Movie Snob Review: District 9

District 9, from virtually unknown director Neill Blomkamp, already has a good following at theaters and all around favorable reviews. Blomkamp has a visual effects/3D animation background so it's not unexpected that his first major solo feature length film would have aliens, explosions, fictional tech gadgetry and other opportunities to display CG prowess. That said, it's good to stick to one's strengths and Blomkamp does a more than fine job at integrating digital characters and effects into the film's South African landscape.

District 9 is an expansion on Blomkamp's short film Alive in Joburg (YouTube video on the left) from 2005 and is backed by equally unknown production companies QED International and Key Creatives. The only recognizable name in this whole movie, actors included, is Peter Jackson who backs as a third producer with WingNut Films. (aside: For all of you who think PJ is flawless go back and take a look at King Kong again if you dare. For bonus confusion dig deeper and watch Meet the Feebles. Based on that movie alone I still don't know how he got to do Lord of the Rings.)


Synopsis:

After almost thirty years of the aliens' residence in District 9, an eroded relationship with the locals and the overall indifference of mankind results in delegating alien affairs to the private company Multi-National United, a group only interested in exclusive rights and mastery of alien weaponry. Wikus Van De Merwe, (I know) is a doting husband and dedicated employee of MNU, seemingly unaware of his own evil nature and disconnected treatment of the alien species as living organisms. After he is exposed to a physically altering substance, Wikus becomes ostracized from his family and colleagues and goes on the run, hunted by both his company and a gang of Nigerian thugs who see profit and power in his mysterious transformation.

The movie is a blend of documentary and regular cinematic story telling that is interesting but results in a loss of cohesion. I realize the documentary style would have been hard to continue through the particulars of this expanded story and may have lost some of the audience, but I would have preferred Blomkamp had been dedicated to one style only. Even with Alive in Joburg's effective all documentary style, the difficulties of both believability and compelling story capture when shooting exclusively first person are enhanced with feature length films. I think for District 9 a complete abandonment of the documentary style from the movie would have been more favorable.

The supporting cast is mediocre and give little depth to their world or their people, both human and alien. No actor besides Sharlto Copley (Wikus) really stands out. Copley does a great job with a character who starts off very two dimensional and then is forced into emotional extremes throughout the film, especially as he has to explore cross-species compassion during his desperate struggle to remain human. The lead alien Christopher Johnson has his own emotional range and, especially when interacting with his young son, shows us that there might be something worth protecting and saving with these creatures. However, even with the cruelty to the collective aliens and Johnson's "performance", I don't easily feel a yearning for their survival or escape. The explanation that most of the aliens are drones and only carry out orders gives reason for emotional vacancy from the majority, but it doesn't help me root for them. It also doesn't help that Johnson's face doesn't easily convey his feelings and his digital eyes appear as just that.

Despite the alien experimentation in the movie, it is humanity that is ultimately under the microscope for the audience. There are early highlights of generosity and sympathy toward the shipwrecked alien group when district 9 is constructed as a "temporary" camp that provides food and medical care for the other worldly refugees. However, as time passes and the story unfolds, the key human characters are shown as heartless, angry, and eager to destroy the alien minority, only after greedily extracting their useful technology. There are parallels to real life district 6 of Cape Town, South Africa which involved forced relocation of 60,000 non white inhabitants from the area during the time of apartheid. I guess this is supposed to be obvious to a largely uneducated American audience, but this historical analogy falls short in its efforts at transference to a completely alien race. District 9 is basically an action and gore film, and does well in both areas, but its attempts at anything deeper in character or plot fall short and fizzle. I'm sure it will continue to do well in theaters however, and find equal success with other action films of this summer. If you were satisfied with Terminator 4 then you'll probably enjoy District 9 just as well if not slightly more.

Rating:
6 out of 10

Blomkamp was also reportedly set to direct the upcoming Halo movie, also to be backed by Peter Jackson. They collaborated on some Halo shorts which looked to solidify the partnership for the full length movie but I'm not absolutely sure this is still concrete information. However, with the already successful release of District 9 I don't see why this agreement would go unfulfilled.