District 9 - The Review

Rating: 6/10 (29 September 2009)

So here we are, yet another film about aliens visiting Earth. Big, vaguely-threatening, city-size flying saucers? Check. Ray guns? Check. Funny-looking, insect-like fellas? They're there too. And it's fair to say that if you've any experience with science fiction, you'll be able to guess most of the early plot twists – what the goo does, what's up with his fingernails, and so on.
But the promos were right, this is different. There's no all-American, wise-cracking, chisel-jawed hero; instead we have a bureaucrat whose accent I believe is called 'Afrikaans,' who isn't actually all that nice, despite his disconcertingly chirpy introduction. I mean, he's okay, but he also threatens people, swears like a docker, and mainly acts in his own best interests – sometimes at the cost of a smooth and early plot resolution.
And yet...it works. If we were in that situation, we'd probably do the same. I'm fairly surely I would. He's the kind of dysfunctional anti-hero that the writers of 'Hancock' could only dream of. This angle, along with the general feeling of dread and depravity throughout, had me believing we were headed for an unhappy ending, something I very rarely suspect. The kind of ending that says: 'See how crap you all are? Here's what you get.' I won't tell you if I was right, but the conclusion was another thing I liked about 'District 9'...it wasn't a clear-cut thing, there were definitely shades of grey. Though the very last scene was a little bit corny for my tastes, especially considering the intense emotional roller-coaster that preceded it.
Have I mentioned the ending, without discussing the actual plot? Whoops! The main plot hook, and the idea behind it, is definitely a smart one – you can see how Peter Jackson (the producer) was brought on board. Aliens become stranded on Earth, possibly in the late eighties (the film states they have been here twenty years), and end up hovering over Johannesburg. Once 'rescued' from the ship, they find themselves living in a slum, sleeping under bits of cardboard, harassed by stereotypical African crime lords, and generally having a lousy time. There are moments when the aliens/immigration issues combination feels a bit forced, and there are significant chunks of the film where the humans seem so evil it's just ridiculous; but these weren't serious problems. For the most part, my disbelief was suspended.
One of the ways they achieved this (or tried to) was through use of classic 'cinema verité' techniques, such as shaky cameras, and fake interviews. To be honest though, that aspect didn't really work for me. Some reviewers liked the 'sparing' use of the technique, but you could also call it inconsistent – they were heavy on the 'fake documentary' stuff at the beginning, then forgot about it completely, before picking up again...then dropping it. And it came back at the end. For some reason this ticked me off. Maybe the style is just getting old, they've been doing this sort of thing in science fiction since 'Firefly' (and by the way, they totally stole the ship design, for the smaller alien ship, from that show. You'll see.) The fake interviews made for some good foreshadowing of the main character's fate, but were only very tenuously linked to the rest of the footage. Those parts just seemed like leftovers from a bad TV movie.
The special effects, however, were extremely satisfactory. The lead alien ('played' by Jason Cope) was brilliantly realised, surprisingly full of expression, one of the most convincing CG-character-in-a live-action-film's that I've seen. This made his interactions with the human lead the high point of the movie, turning into a very realistic (and actually, quite touching) friendship. The mothership looks fantastic, and having it floating there in almost every outdoors shot works really well as a 'motif,' a reminder of the issues and problems that metaphorically hover over the city.
The only bad special effects come as a ridiculous one-two punch...a man in a sentry tower explodes like a balloon full of jam, and suddenly a pig is fired out of a cannon. Seriously. I laughed. I'm not a gore lover, and there is a fair bit in the film, but I'm pleased to report I didn't have to look away once – not like when I didn't see the entire second hour of 'Sweeney Todd.' The gore wasn't just there for the sake of it, and it was done with a bit of taste. The sets were fantastic, though apparently they saved a lot of time by shooting most of it in a recently-abandoned existing slum – so perhaps they shouldn't get too much credit for that.
So, to wrap things up. If you've remained unspoiled, I can definitely recommend a trip to see 'District 9', there is a great deal of tension and excitement all the way through. I went in expecting it to be a bit preachy, but it actually wasn't – though there are a couple of problems with the narrative style, particularly the unusual and contradictory mish-mash of techniques. They may make more sense on a second viewing, but for me they came close to spoiling my 'immersion' in the world of the film, which is particularly irritating as it was meant to have the opposite effect! All in all, I give this film a prawn-tastic three out of five.