District 9: BD Review
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Page 1 of 3 Sony / 112 Minutes / 2009 / Rated R / Street Date: December 22, 2009
As a lifelong horror film, I’ve always been a little fickle when it comes to science fiction. While many horror fans are equally keen on both the fantasy and science fiction genres, I tend to prefer science fiction that’s either firmly rooted in horror (like Alien) or that is a bit more cerebral and visceral (like The Terminator). I always had a tough time connecting with sweeping sci-fi epics like Star Trek and Star Wars — they always seemed a bit cold and calculated to me. Give me a simple plot and a premise hitched to at least some semblance of reality — with maybe a dash of social commentary thrown in for good measure — and I’m satisfied. So when a little gem like director Neill Blomkamp’s amazing District 9 comes along, it’s cause to celebrate. Here’s a sci-fi classic in the making that does exactly what all good science fiction — and even good horror — should do: tap into a familiar aspect of contemporary life and point up how volatile it can become at the drop of a hat. Just as real horror capitalizes on what may or may not be lurking next door — or even just under the bed — genuine science fiction can make us rethink pervasive traits such as racism, intolerance and segregation and show them within a wholly different context. The simple but brilliantly-executed “us against them” alien parable of District 9 adeptly couches these messages within the structure of a thrilling sci-fi adventure.
More often than not, I’m usually disappointed by films that are released amidst a storm of hype and critical acclaim — especially low-budget “sleeper” hits like District 9. But this movie certainly earned its accolades and I was surprised by how much better it was than the pre-release buzz I had heard. Produced and “presented by” auteur Peter Jackson, District 9 probably would have done well even without the Oscar-winning director’s imprimatur; the movie is skillfully made and has an infectious raw energy that makes it utterly compelling. But with Jackson’s backing and access to his state-of-the-art Weta Workshop digital and special effects team, first-time director Neill Blomkamp managed to create an instant sci-fi classic that looks very modern and amazing realistic. Taking his inspiration from great 1980s science fiction films like Aliens, Predator and RoboCop, Blomkamp also borrows the mock documentary structure of recent films like The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield to set up the initial premise: an alien spacecraft suddenly appears hovering above Johannesburg, South Africa (Blomkamp’s hometown) and we learn from snippets of introductory news and documentary footage that the alien life forms within — insect-like creatures later to be dubbed “prawns,” as in “bottom feeders” — are all inexplicably sick and near death. It is believed that a command module from the spacecraft was dislodged and lost and the aliens were stranded. As such, the South African government is compelled to give them asylum.
Of course, getting these alien creatures to blend into their human surroundings is more than a bit problematic. They soon begin committing crimes and acts of violence against the humans, forcing them to be confined within a government camp inside Johannesburg known as District 9. The camp is secured with the assistance of a police force and segregated from the rest of the human population. With obvious echoes of apartheid under the South African government — especially the District Six encampment in Cape Town that inspired the film’s title — the banished and segregated aliens are soon seen as animals and aberrations to be kept apart from other living beings. The government prohibits them from using their weapons, from procreating, and from doing anything other than staying within District 9 and staying out of trouble. Even with military and police presence inside the encampment, however, District 9 develops its own subculture of criminal activity and gun-smuggling, led by a gang of Nigerian thugs who barter for weapons with canned cat food — an odd delicacy to which the prawns are addicted. As District 9 devolves into a slum and an eyesore within the city limits, the South African government hires a private company known as Multi-National United (MNU) to serve eviction notices to the estimated 1.8 million prawns living there and relocate them to a new encampment — District 10 — comfortably located some 240 kilometers outside of Johannesburg.
Enter Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), an MNU employee who is put in charge of relocating the alien prawns from District 9 to District 10. Goofy and a bit self-conscious, Wikus nevertheless takes charge of the relocation effort and takes along a film crew from MNU to document his progress. He happily discovers hidden caches of weapons that he confiscates and even relishes finding a hidden collection of alien eggs which he gleefully “aborts” using a flamethrower. But not everything goes as smoothly as planned during the first day of serving eviction notices to the bewildered prawns. When he finds a mysterious cylinder he thinks might be an alien weapon, the device discharges an unknown fluid into his face and he then gets into a scuffle with two of the alien prawns that were hiding the device, injuring his arm in the process. Refusing medical treatment, Wikus gradually becomes ill, collapses during a party to celebrate his recent promotion, and is rushed to the hospital. When the emergency room doctor takes the bandages off his wounded arm, however, Wikus’ hand has mutated into a prawn-like claw. Fearing contamination, MNU immediately takes him into custody and he’s whisked off to a secret underground experimental lab. That Wikus is now some sort of hybrid human-prawn isn’t necessarily a bad thing — especially for MNU, a company that has been trying to figure out how to harness the power of the alien weapons they’ve confiscated. The sophisticated alien weaponry is somehow linked to their DNA and a couple of quick tests with live ammunition prove that Wikus is capable of firing the guns that ordinary humans cannot.
When the MNU scientists attempt to vivisect Wikus to find out what allows him to use the alien weapons, he goes ballistic and overpowers them, making a hasty escape. Now a wanted man who’s slowly mutating into a prawn, a-la Jeff Goldblum in The Fly, Wikus seeks refuge in the one place he knows MNU can’t readily find him: District 9. It’s here that Blomkamp and co-screenwriter Terri Tatchell drive home their subtle message of xenophobia and racism, since Wikus — a once-dutiful MNU employee who is now considered a criminal and fugitive — becomes a metaphor for those who once lived among “normal” humans and are now ostracized and segregated from society. Not surprisingly, Wikus soon befriends one of the prawns he suspected of criminal activity — an alien known as “Christopher Johnson” — and seeks his help in trying to stave off his gradual metamorphosis from human to prawn. He also becomes sympathetic to their plight and realizes they are just doing what is necessary to survive — not unlike himself. The MNU company man who once joked about how the sound of the “aborted” alien eggs he burned reminded him of popcorn popping now feels empathy for this alien prawn and his child. Likewise, Christopher Johnson begins to feel sorry for Wikus, and he reveals that the small canister and the liquid within that infected him was the result of a 20-year effort to collect a special fuel fluid to power up the command module for their mother ship which has been hidden buried beneath his shack in District 9 all these years. If Wikus helps Johnson to retrieve the needed fuel from the MNU facility, Johnson will, in turn, help Wikus return to his human incarnation.
While the final act of District 9 gets a little bogged down in a predictable chase and shoot-out formula, the bulk of the film is a brisk-paced and wholly original creation. The digitally-rendered alien prawn creatures — often shown in bright daylight and flawlessly integrated with the live actors and settings — are a remarkable invention and reminded me of a cross between the Predator creature and the robotic metal-alloy endoskeleton of The Terminator. They speak their own staccato language (interpreted with onscreen subtitles) and walk on two legs with stilted, insect-like movements. As he did with his creative 2005 short film, Alive in Joburg, which became the inspirational template for District 9, Blomkamp shoots his pseudo documentary footage with digital cameras and then goes back to add his impressive computer-generated alien creatures. It’s some of the most seamlessly-integrated digital work I’ve seen … well, since producer Peter Jackson’s work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But the CGI prawns aren’t the only stars here — newcomer Sharlto Copley is a revelation in the role of Wikus van de Merwe. From obedient yes-man to corporate lackey to rebellious victim to sympathetic compatriot, the arc of Copley’s character is impressive and there isn’t a false note in his entire performance. There aren’t many film characters you hate one minute (during the early scenes as he callously “aborts” alien eggs) and then feel sorry for the next (as when he clings to his humanity and tearfully pleads with his wife on a cell phone). Blomkamp also infuses his alien prawns with enough personality and identifiable human traits to make them equally empathetic and by the end of the film you’re rooting for both Wikus and Christopher — human and alien fighting together, side by side — to defeat the movie’s true villain: the oppressive MNU corporation.
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