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Friday, 25 September 2009
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Reviewed by Cameron Spink
District 9 is undeniably one of the heaviest movies of the year. The plot is thick, the mood is deep and the special effects stunning. All to be expected in a movie produced by Peter Jackson. District 9 is a movie about aliens that centres around one major event. And no, it is not an invasion. Rather the plot is focused on the relocation of these aliens aptly dubbed “prawns” (because of their physical form) from district 9 (just outside of Johannesburg) to district 10 (a prepared future housing for the aliens, well away from human contact). Conditions in district 9 are terrible. Rubbish litters the streets and is implemented in the building of shelters, the alien’s trade all they own for cat food and crime runs rampant through the misuse of power. It is a real culture shock for the viewer and the movie deliberately highlights these conditions in order to pack the biggest emotional punch.
The protagonist of the movie is Wikus Van De Merwe (portrayed brilliantly by South African Sharlto Copley). He is employed by Multinational United and is responsible for the relocation of the aliens. His personality goes through one of the most inspiring and realistic transformations seen in cinema for some time. Where Wikus begins as a fumbling, people-pleasing, discriminatory jerk his persona is altered into a loyal, brave and even heroic character by the conclusion of the film.The intensity and emotion of the movie is part of what makes this movie so indescribably heavy. Once watched the hows and whys of human and, indeed, alien emotion will linger in a viewers mind for days. One of the biggest themes is that of xenophobia, or the fear of things which are different or unknown. The rarity that humans get painted as those who fear and want to contain breathes fresh air into the stale genre of alien movies.
What this film does so well is the portrayal of characters. Not as black or white individuals but rather as very grey. While some people have commentated that this sometimes makes Wikus and others unlikable what this greyness does is makes him more human and more relatable for viewers. He is a man inclined to make poor and selfish decisions but at crunch time he can also make very noble and sacrificial choices. The aliens are very three dimensional characters as well. Whilst at the lowest level they have the basis survival necessity to feed they are not depicted as mindless animals but rather as beings with emotion and decision-making capacity. This is further enhanced by the screen-writers choice to give them very normal names. For instance Christopher Johnson is an alien and is the main supporting character to Wikus. This makes the aliens feel more human and more emotionally accessible. Also did I mention the amusing South African accents?
The movie is filmed in a very bizarre manner. It begins like a documentary with a lot of interviews about the alien spaceship appearing and the situating of the aliens in district 9 and then slowly progresses until the movie feels very much like a drama. Then about halfway through the momentum shifts and the movie finishes with a flurry of bullets and a dramatic action sequence. Strangely enough this tempo swing is what makes this movie really work as a cinematic piece as it gives the movie a complete and whole feel to it.
Overall this movie is sensational and well worth the price of admission. The brilliant blend of an emotional storyline, adrenaline action sequences and eye-popping special effects makes this movie one of the blockbusters of the year and perhaps the best movie regarding aliens of all time.
4.5 stars
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