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"District 9": Allegorical sci fi that challenges the audience
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Grade: B / Rated: "R"
(If you've seen the movie feel free to provide your own grade in the comments section)
"District 9" is a gripping drama with sociopoltical overtones that also happens to be a science fiction feature. It is a somber but thrillng vehicle that will appeal to anti-sci fi skeptics as well as hardcore fans. The movie navigates a delcate balance between special effects wizardry, traditional sci fi concepts and real world social commentary. It largely succeeds at balancing these often disparate themes and as a result, despite some flaws, it is the standout sci fi movie of the year.
District 9 is set in Johannesburg South Africa and there is no question that this setting gives it an aura of authenticity that farily brims from the screen. South Africa's history of apartheid and separation of races mirrors the movie's set piece of a race of misplaced aliens segregated by the authorities from the human population. The alien's massive ship arrived over a shanty town area of Johannesburg in 1982 and has hovered some 1000 feet above for over two decades. Why they came and how they became stranded is never explained. But after some two months of mystery it is determined that the aliens are in dire straits. They are starving and are apparently unable to provide for themselves. The authorities make the area in the vicinity of the ship a holding compound for the visitors, where they feed and provide for them called District 9. Here, they are fenced off from the rest of Johannesburg's populace and are retained in the squalid conditions of the shanty town. They are surrounded 24-7 by the military, obstensly for their own protection but actually more out of fear of interaction with people. This fear is seemingly justified because there have been several violent clashes between the aliens and the human population, so much so that a decision is made to relocate the entire alien population, some 1.2 million, to an area 250 miles from the city.
Here enters Wikus Van De Merwe, played by newcomer Sharlto Copley, who is picked to lead the effort to transfer the aliens from District 9, more about him in a moment.
The aliens are referred to as "Prawns" because of their resemblace to shrimp. This name is reminisent of the terms used for the races in South Africa's apartheid past; Blacks, Coloreds and Whites. This is another example of how the movie's plot mirrors specific aspects of SA's history. The appearance of the aliens is one of the movie's strenghts; they are tall, insectoid-like, creatures who move with a deceptively halting gait; they are amongst the most realistic looking film creatures in history.
Van De Merwe is a rather callow employee of the MNU, the corporation that is in charge of District 9. He has no previous experience with a task of this magnitude, he is only picked for it because he is marred to the CEO's daughter, who is played by newcomer Vanessa Haywood. Wikus eagerly accepts the task but is almost from the start in over his head with it. During his first day on the relocation project he is accidentally exposed to some alien chemical. This exposure will effect a profound physical change upon Wikus that makes him question his very way of life and thrusts him into the pivotal role in this saga.
As previously noted, many features of South African urban culture are incorporated in District 9. But perhaps none of them are more potentially controversial than the movie's depiction of Nigerian gansters. Nigerian gansters are an authentic reality of South African cities and doubtless other African nation's cities. That they are organized, prolifigate and often ruthless is undeniable. However, in District 9 they are depicted as engaging in activites regarding the aliens that some may find offensive. It is here where the movie is constructed on it's shakiest ground. It is completely permissiable for the first time director, Neill Blomcamp, to use Nigerian gangs as a plot feature but some of the activites that he has them doing are questionable at best, utterly insenstive and borderline racist at worst. It is rather easy to hold forth on other's creative endeavors, this is what I do every time I review a film. Yet I would be remiss If I didn't acknowledge that I would have much preferred Blomcamp to have thought of other ways to demonstate the Nigerian gang's inhumanity, other than the plot devices he came up with. The repellent nature of one of these activities in particular are an unfortunate distraction to an otherwise fine film.
Sharlto Copley's Wikus Van De Merwe is the fulcrum upon which whole of District 9's machinery moves. His portrayal of Wikus' awakening brings to mind the protagonists of other classic sci fi classics like "Soylent Green" (1973) and "Blade Runner" (1982). Copley's performance is a showcase of emotional intensity and ensures that District 9 remains the human-centered enterprise that is it's greatest advantage.
"District 9" is a compelling and challenging genre movie whose inventiveness saves it from it's conventions. It has some logical flaws and also unfortunately trucks in some needless racial sterotyping. Nevertheless, it's creatvity and it's willingness to use the sociopolitical background of it's location as it's armature is an example of a type of ambition missing from most movies and sets it apart from the crowd.
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