A thrilling and unique take on an old genre

Rating: 8/10 (29 August 2009)

District 9 is probably the biggest surprise hit of the year so far that isn't really a surprise. Made on an incredibly low budget (compared to the majority of Hollywood summer blockbusters) and featuring no big names except for Peter Jackson, who produced the film, this unique sci-fi action thriller surrounding aliens who live in slums in Johannesburg after their ship stopped above the South African city earned twice the amount of money it cost to make...in its opening weekend. And it deserves every cent of that box office gross. The Hollywood studios that released such deafening, incoherent summer movies as Transformers 2 or G.I. Joe should take a look at this film from little-known director Neill Blomkamp and see it as proof that you can make an intelligent blockbuster and that audiences actually will see it. Not only are the special effects incredible, but the movie's actual plot is intriguing and profound.
By styling the film like a documentary, Blomkamp creates tension right from the opening sequence, where numerous people, from employees of MNU (Multi-National United) to sociologists and scientists, take turns describing the alien situation. This also helps enhance the movie's gritty, uncompromising tone and gives it a fresh feel. Instead of an expensive set, the crew used real locations to film, accentuating the movie's realistic mood; you really feel as though you have been transported to a desolate slum in the middle of Johannesburg. We filmgoers have seen many films surrounding extra-terrestrials, most of them nothing more than showcases for the latest in CGI and F/X technology, but District 9 does not feel like anything we have seen before. The special effects are used to support the story, not the other way around.
Even so, you cannot help but marvel at the way Blomkamp and his tech crew managed to create something so convincing with so little money. The aliens look more realistic than anything featured in Transformers 2, and they did it with no more than 20 million compared to the Transformers's 200 million. In fact, it looks so real that when, for example, one character's fingernails begin to spontaneously fall out, you feel obligated to glance at your own fingernails to make sure they're still perfectly secure. This is only a fraction of the violence and gore, and this movie is clearly not for the queasy. District 9 never flinches when it comes to showing blood and...well, anything. Intense and graphic, it hides nothing and does not hesitate to throw the viewer right into the middle of the action.
Of course, there is much more to appreciate about District 9 than the makers' astute handling of the budget. Blomkamp and his casting director made the smart choice in casting only unknowns; the lack of a familiar face heightens the realism and compels us to care about the characters because of the characters themselves, not the actors who portray them. Sharlto Copley does a commendable job as Wikus Van de Merwe, a worker in the MNU Alien Affairs department and the central character in the film. He is aided by strong performances by Vanessa Haywood, who plays his wife, and the rest of the supporting cast. The humans aren't the only ones who turn in good performances, though. Though they are entirely CGI, the aliens or "prawns", a derogatory term used by humans throughout the film, particularly Christopher Johnson, the most prolific of the extraterrestrials, are complex yet sympathetic. You can often see their emotions and thoughts in their big yellow eyes, and it is not hard to convince yourself to root for them; at times, they are even more likable than the protagonist, who is good but flawed.
Finally, what really sets District 9 apart from the bulk of alien movies is the underlying allegory concerning immigration. Like many refugees, the aliens are forced to reside in substandard slums that separate them from the indigenous population and they are often treated with malice and suspicion by others. Most people have commented on the ties to the apartheid apparent in the film, but many of the messages and themes can also be connected to events in the United States. When a riot breaks out in district 9, I was reminded of the footage often shown of the Los Angeles riots in the '70s, and the relationship between the prawns and humans echos the racial discrimination that has characterized much of American history. In fact, there is no coincidence that the word 'alien' is often used to refer to someone who is foreign or different from oneself. At one point, an interviewee comments that it would not matter if the aliens were from a different country, but it does matter because they came from another planet. This brings up two points: one, why does it matter if they are from a different planet? How much difference is there between a country and a planet? And second, it is hypocritical, because even today, a big deal is made out of foreigners moving into another country. In short, if the aliens were only from the neighboring country, not another planet, the locals would be just as contemptuous of them.
Ultimately, aided by incredible special effects, a solid cast and masterful direction, District 9 poses a single question: How can we, as humans, expect to peacefully co-exist with a different species when we can barely co-exist with each other?