Barrett’s Review: District 9 Is A Powerful Movie Experience

GRADE: A

When you walk out of the theater after seeing District 9, you will feel beaten down. You will feel dirty, emotional and exhausted from the insane thrills you had just endured while being transported to another world for two hours. This film was fantastic from top to bottom: the acting, the writing, the action, the effects, the emotion, the direction, it was all top-notch. And most importantly, it’s something that you have NEVER seen before. This movie is so unique, that it makes you get on your knees and thank the movie gods for delivering us something fresh and original, amidst a plethora of remakes, reboots and sequels. You think you know, you have no idea. This is a review of District 9.

To repeat what I just said, you think you know, but you have no idea. Try to suppress speculation and repeat watching of trailers and clips to figure out what this film is about, because you will just end up running in circles in your brain. I’m going to try my absolute hardest to avoid spoilers in this review, because the exponential insanity of the plot development is what makes this film so exciting.

The film takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, where a massive, city-size alien spacecraft has been stuck hovering over the city for the past 28 years. The ship appeared above the city by accident, and due to a broken/missing piece, the ship cannot leave. Upon first contact, the humans discover that these aliens are not the pristine, clean, tall and slender white beings commonly depicted in UFO encounters and popular culture. Rather, they are insect-like, grimy and disgusting. They have a very “savage” nature and cannot seem to take care of themselves. So in order to accommodate these millions of creatures into human society, the South African government sets up a segregated area for the aliens to live, District 9.

The film’s director, Neill Blomkamp, is from Johannesburg and has dedicated much of his short career to highlighting  the dark time of Apartheid through fiction. Blomkamp presents these aliens as inferior barbarians initially, because of the inane superiority complex of the humans involved.  But as the plot develops, we see how cruelly the humans are treating these aliens, immediately inspiring sympathy from the audience. A parallel metaphor to the segregation and persecution of black people in South Africa for many years; a parallel that some critics have found to be under utilized, but is actually very present throughout the film.

The film does such an amazing job of transporting you to this world because of its documentary format. It is set up as a documentary of what happened in District 9, when tensions between humans and aliens came to a boiling point and the  government decided to move D9 200 miles out of the city. To do this, they hired one of the biggest corporations and weapons manufacturers in the world, Multi-National United (MNU). The man promoted to head up this moving project is the kind and likable Wikus Van De Merwe, played by newcomer Sharlto Copley. During Wikus’ eviction notice expedition to D9, he is infected with something that changes his life and the course of the movie. I won’t say what it is, but the documentary revolves around what happened with Wikus and District 9 after this event. As one of Wikus’ colleague states near the beginning that sums up this documentary format, “I just want everybody to learn, from what has happened.” Interviews with Johannesburg residents, college professors, scientists and experts are scattered throughout the film, which give you this very real feeling, and makes the thrilling and insane elements of the film, that much more convincing.

Blomkamp is going to be a stud director from here on out. His direction was gritty, real and and exciting. He took us into the bowls of District 9 to the point where I could imagine what awful smells were emitting from the dead carcasses and garbage. This is his first major film and his grasp on how to direct action is fantastic. There is an intense end battle scene and the bullets and explosions are very in your face. As Blomkamp is a protege of Peter Jackson, one of my favorite parts of the movie is the human deaths. The aliens have this amazing advanced weapon technology that, when used on a human, make them go “SPLAT!” So many times people were cheering in the theater when the “SPLAT” occurred, it was awesome. The CGI and effects are also astounding. The production budget for this film was only $30 million, but it looks like an action epic that cost three times that amount. The CGI composition of the aliens was perfect and they looked totally real. The attention to detail of everything from their facial expression to the color of their eyes was meticulous and superb. The CGI combined with live-action was seamless and utterly impressive, that will surely put District 9 atop the list for technical Academy Awards.

One of the other really impressive aspects of this film that really made you care is the amazing performance by Sharlto Copley. When I mentioned earlier that he was a newcomer, that was an understatement. Sharlto Copley is a friend of Blomkamp and has NEVER, EVER acted before in his life. Not in a commercial, a play or a “We Three Kings” reenactment at church. This is his FIRST acting performance of his life at the age of 36. I would have thought that he was a Shakespearean veteran after the emotional conviction he displayed. Let me tell you, this man goes through a series of events that would make most people blow their brains out, but because of the love for his wife, he is determined to accomplish his goal, and you are bleeding, sweating and crying along with him the entire way.

I’m definitely going back to see it again and I can’t wait. “There’s  a lot of secrets in District 9.”

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