Director Neill Blomkamp
Released 2009
Plot An extraterrestrial race forced to live in a slum in Johannesburg suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology and forced to fight with them for freedom.
Best on Film Rating ★★★★ FLUSH
I do believe the place to start with reviewing this film is to mention that it is produced by Peter Jackson, oh he of Lord of the Rings and Meet the Feebles (love that film). It is my personal belief that his discovery of Blomkamp may have inadvertently graced us with whom I have no doubt will be one of the most notable directors of our time. I will be greatly affronted if he doesn’t go on to direct other films (including a sequel to this)… in my opinion, District 9 has proven this young man to be the new Bryan Singer. I kid you not.
For District 9 can boast that which is very unusual in this day and age: a totally new, original premise. For one thing, the Alien spaceship does not break down over Manhattan or Los Angeles – no, no, it grinds to a halt over Johannesburg of all places, to the resounding Hallelujah chorus of sci-fi fans worldwide.
What starts as a documentary style film, reminiscent of British spoof films at times (but not in a groansome way) moves on to a more dramatic first-person style, following the story of our anti-hero Wikus van der Merwe (Copley), and the appalling treatment of a man who is very simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and must deal with something never before faced by a human.
Plus the aliens, given the slang “prawns” in the film, are so well animated and, dare I say it, real, that I find it dizzying to imagine how many hours were put into bringing them to life. Respect to the special effects chaps, I say.
It is impressive to consider the quality of this film particularly due to the completely unknown cast within it (the lead, an old friend of Blomkamp’s, improvised all his dialogue – no easy task). The final 15 minutes is well worth a re-watch alone, which had me, and my guests, all on the edge of our seats – there are precious few A list actors who could have pulled this off to such magnificent, or believable, effect. In fact, I can’t name anyone well-known just now who could have done it.
It could have gone horribly horrendously wrong, but this, I’m glad to say is one of the latest and greatest success stories of Independent(ish) film brushing with Hollywood, complete with Oscar nomination. Watch for the special effects. Watch for the fact you won’t have to play name that actor throughout. Watch for the exploding people. But above all, watch because it’s a damn good film.
Oh, and be warned: you’ll never look at prawn cocktail in the same way again.
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