District 9

District 9

Director: Neil Blomkamp.

District 9 has arrived as one of the most anticipated films of the summer, and it's not too hard to see why. It offers an intriguing premise, stunning (and thrillingly real) visual effects, and a very mysterious advertising campaign. The film delivers on many levels, but it is far from the 'masterpiece' that's been hyped for months.

20 years ago, a mysterious spaceship appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. After three months of no contact from the inhabitants of the ship, the humans on the ground decided to force their way on board. What they found was a group of aliens living in squalor and filth. It was decided by the powers-that-be that the best option would be relocate the aliens to camps on the ground.

Flash forward 20 years. The aliens are once again living in squalor and filth in a slum called District 9. It has been decided that something needs to be done to remedy this situation. Enter MNU (Multi-National United), a corporation that has built District 10, a new facility in which to house the alien race, now nicknamed 'Prawns.'
Leading this operation is Wikus Van De Merme, an attention loving bureaucrat clearly in love with the camera following him around.

The first half of the film details MNU's attempt, led by Wikus, to force the prawns out of District 9, and this sequence is astonishing. It's very clear from the potency of images (District 9 calls to mind images as far reaching as the camps in Schindler's List to the ragged images of Sao Paolo in City of God) and immediacy of the camerawork that Blomkamp is not giving us the average science fiction film. He's engaging us politically, socially, and emotionally. The ineffectiveness and arrogance of the MNU agents is hilarious, and Sharlto Copley's performance as Wikus is top notch (credit must be given to Copley for turning a seemingly simple character into much more).
The tension in this sequence builds until an inevitable confrontation between Wikus' team and a group of aliens, who are trying to hide a mysterious liquid whose purpose is unknown. The liquid causes Wikus to develop alien features, and so he becomes a fugitive.
This sequence, as well as the brief sequence where Wikus is forced to use his new abilities to demonstrate alien weaponry, are absolutely brilliant. Science fiction at it's allegorical best. However, once Wikus escapes and is on the run, the film loses not only it's momentum, but also it's political engagement, it's unique perspective (the documentary style disappears, which is an utter mistake and a huge inconsistency in what has been previous established cinematically), and most of it's originality.
From this point on, District 9 becomes essentially a chase film, with several protracted (and mostly unexciting) set pieces which don't really build to anything. It is interesting to see the desperation of Wikus has he tries to get his life back, and Copley absolutely nails it, but in the end it feels empty. This performance deserves a better film, and a better conclusion.
Overall, District 9 is a disappointment. What begins as social thriller on par with The Constant Gardener devolves quickly into a run of the mill action film. However, Blomkamp is a gifted director, and will be worth watching in the future.


2.5/5