The film starts off in the style of a documentary and it is very convincing. The purposefully amateurish nature of the camera work, the casual "real to life" acting and the various interviews with the protagonists and other individuals important to the storyline are fantastically well done and add some realism to what is ultimately a story about aliens. The interviews themselves cut into past footage of the main character, Wikus Van De Merwe, preparing excitedly for his new role let us know that something, somewhere along the line, is going to go wrong.
Wikus Van De Merwe:
The main protaganist of the movie, as played by Sharlto Copley, is a very ordinary man. The audience can find immediate links to this character due to his everyday appearance and demeanour. There is nothing "superman" about him at all. He is merely a man excited about his new role. This is perhaps what creates the illusion of realism even more so than the documentary visionary style. We follow Wikus from the start of his day and see how events pan out as things go from bad to worse for him.
Zero To Hero:
After being exposed to Alien biotechnology, Wikus goes under a transformation of character. Not just in appearance but in attitude. He becomes much more the "action hero" as wrongs are commited against him by his former friends and some briliant and well shot action sequences can be seen. However, one does feel his transformation from the loveable but slightly idiotic everyday man to the profanity making, action man is a little quick. Nevertheless, the emotional conversations between Wikus and his wife during the transformation are incredibly well written.
Documentary?
As we follow Wikus he often talks directly to the camera, explaining different things for the benefit of an unknowing audience (how convenient). He talks about various things that the team come across as they perform their duty in district 9. Throughout the movie, various snippets of information are released via the interviews mentioned above that help the audience catch up to the present events; the Alien's arrival, their short history on Earth etc etc. By the time the documentary section of the movie comes to an end, the audience has been caught up and are ready for the next set of events to unfold.
The Prawns:
As the movie progresses, the Aliens we are unsure of at the start are slowly revealed, through the eyes of the transforming Wikus, to be badly treated outcasts, forced to live in terrible, slum-like conditions. The audience does start to feel some empathy towards them, in particular a certain father and son team pivotal to the story. By the end if the audience arent all cheering for the Aliens then they havent been watching the movie. Even the Alien characters have been done very well in this movie, especially the character of Christopher Johnson. One does feel that parallels to the black and white issues in South Africa's past are being made here as well as issues between minorities and majorities of many countries around the world.
The Good:
- For a low budget, this movie looks and sounds great.
- The setting (an actual real life slum town) is fantastic and adds to the "realism" of the movie.
- The actors do a fine job, with special mention going to Sharlto Copley for his performances.
- The story is fast paced and presents an action packed finale to rival even big budget movies.
The Bad:
- The main protagonist does transform in character a little too quickly, detracting from the overall believability of this movie.
- The story in some parts is a little silly, as are a couple of the action sequences.
The Verdict: 8/10
The movie is a triumph for the low budget film-makers. It looks great and has a good, if a little silly, story. The characters are engaging, with the audience feeling sympathy even for the Aliens. The whole film feels believable despite the genre and the action is powerful. It brings elements of real-life Docu-drama and Sci-Fi together seamlessly and succeeds.
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