Mountain FogDISTRICT 9: SCI-FI'S NEW TERRITORY
August 27th 2009 05:36
Sharlto Copley isn't seeing things so clearly in District 9.
Every once in a long while a film comes out that is so left of field it flies almost completely under the radar, before landing in cinemas, shaking patrons like a fizzy drink, and then letting them explode out of the theatre, spreading word in a wildfire about the dazzling piece of celluloid they just witnessed.
District 9 is one of those films, being the best piece of sci-fi to hit theatres in a very long time. You may have been getting by on Star Trek, disappointed by Terminator Salvation and waiting for Avatar, but Kirk and Spock can’t compete with this, and who needs the greatest action filmmaker of all time when you have the young Neill Bloomkamp, a screenwriter and director who looks to have studied the James Cameron playbook in fine detail.
District 9 matches a clever concept in an unusual setting with rock solid storytelling. A Hollywood executive would giggle with glee at the conventional but precise artistry on display in the film’s script, before getting on the horn to see if McG was available to piss all over the project.
Thankfully, things never went in that direction, the movie being put into production by Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films. The New Zealand company gave Bloomkamp the opportunity to direct his own script – cowritten with Terri Tatchell – and a $30 million budget to work with.
The final result is a mind-boggling extravaganza - an unnerving mix of old-fashioned screenwriting and very contemporary production work.
In District 9, first time actor Sharlto Copley plays Wikus Van Der Merwe, a bumbling bureaucrat within the massive Multi-National United (MNU), a private arms and security contractor.
It's been 28 years since an enormous alien spacecraft came to a ghostly standstill over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, with scientists finding thousands of malnourished extraterrestrials after cutting into the inert hulk. Authorities eventually ushered the aliens down to solid ground and set them up in District 9, a makeshift refugee camp that soon became a shanty town, replete with crime, vice and a Nigerian crime lord.
Now the people of Johannesburg want the aliens gone, with MNU being assigned the task of evicting them to a new site 200 kilometres outside of town, and heading up this mission will be an out-of-his depth Wikus. But MNU is more concerned with harnessing the genetically locked weaponry of the aliens (derogatorily referred to as "prawns" due to their crustaceous appearance) than actually looking after their welfare. Unfortunately, things become complicated when Wikus is inadvertently exposed to an alien power source, prompting a metamorphosis that makes him the most wanted man on the planet.
Despite its relatively small budget, District 9 is a big film with big ideas. It overflows with metaphor, subtext and satire, throwing its messages right into the laps of the audience. But at its heart, District 9 possesses a cracking narrative, and that’s what really makes this film tick: it’s willingness to stick to its protagonist’s character development as he’s dragged through a series of outrageous events.
The alien spaceship becomes an oddly familiar part of the scenery in District 9.
Wikus works because he starts out the film as a hopeless twit. He’s controlled by events, and only won the opportunity to lead the eviction team through connections with his father-on-law, the CEO of MNU. But Bloomkamp and Tatchell understand what makes a movie character, and through the course of the film Wikus undergoes a spiritual transformation that mirrors his more physical changes.
Supporting characters are equally well defined. David James plays Wikus’s arch nemesis, Koobus, with relish, attaching himself securely to his character’s well-grafted ticks – his habit of referring to Wikus as ‘Dickus’ being an obvious and hilarious example. Wikus’s eventual alien ally, Christopher, is also rendered with a deft touch, the computer generated, non-English speaking, giant crustacean generating plenty of sympathy from the viewer.
And taking their script to the screen, the filmmakers have pulled off the story with almost effortless style. The shaking camera is a device used too arbitrarily in contemporary films, but Bloomkamp and cinematographer Trent Opaloch pull off a small coup by making their application both relevant and watchable. Bloomkamp illustrates a keen eye for action scene geography during the second half of the film, breaking up the documentary style footage with wider explanatory shots, often cleverly done through the lenses of a watching news or security cameras.
Everything just comes together brilliantly in District 9. It’s filmmaking that marries big ideas to economical, often understated implementation, the result being a bracing experience. It’s perhaps a film that will be skipped by some mainstream audiences, which is a shame because it’s difficult to think of a contemporary piece of cinema more exhilarating than this.
Check out the trailer for Distrct 9 below:
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Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
You know my feelings on the film because you read my review. I agree with your assessment and enjoyed reading it.
If only this much passion and cinema awareness laced all blockbusters, the world could be a better place...oh that and if we segregated those who couldn't appreciate it
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I need to see this movie again, soon.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by The wonderful Peter Yang
The wonderful Peter Yang's Variety blog
Power Ranger Online
Comedy TV Online
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Cheers
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Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight