They Came From Outer Space

Movie Review: District 9
High name actors and notorious directors weren't high on the list for alien thriller District 9. Instead, director Neil Blomkamp (who?) and producer Peter Jackson (oh, I know him...) create a film with an unknown actor and a multi-dimensional story line. And what was the result of this formula? A unique and interesting film that is--wait for it--successful at the box office.

But let's start at the beginning. 2001 to be exact. Jackson had hired Blomkamp to direct the film adaptation of the popular video game, Halo. After months of work, the studio producers (Universal and Fox) pulled out, citing the director was too inexperienced for the position. That is when Jackson stepped in and gave Blomkamp $30 million to make whatever he wanted. The end result was District 9, a feature film based on Blomkamp's short film Alive in Joburg. The premise is that aliens have landed in Johannesburg, sick and in need of help. They are sequestered to the town's ghetto, called District 9. Twenty years later, they still live in poverty, surrounded by alien racism (they are derogatorily called prawns). When a government agency goes in to move them to more "comfortable" surroundings (code for far away from humans) one of the leaders, Wikus Van De Merwe, comes across an alien substance that changes his life forever.

Who would be cast as the tortured and evolving Van De Merwe? Tom Cruise? Will Smith? Brad Pitt? Nope, Sharlto Copley (again, who?). This unknown actor was, well, unknown. In fact, he has never acted in a film besides being an extra in Alive in Joburg. So why such a casting? First, he and Blomkamp have been best friends for 15 years. And second, Copley gave such a believable job acting when shooting test footage for District 9 that Blomkamp and Jackson were convinced. And so will you after you see Copley's performance. You can just see his star rising as he transitions from a naïve Michael Scott-childlike character to an alpha-male hero. For someone who has never acted, Copley gives such a pure performance that audiences can connect with. And award panels everywhere will be taking notice.

Blomkamp better be the first one he thanks in his acceptance speech. Because the director creates such a chilling backdrop and racially driven script that it is easy for an actor to be inspired. Blomkamp's picture of aliens' existence is dreary, bland, and depressing. Never before do you feel the pain and desperation of an extraterrestrial in a film. Normally, they are hated, seen as the antagonists of the films. But with District 9, it is the other way around. You actually look at the humans in disgust and to the aliens with compassion. Only a talented director can turn these kinds of emotions.

And also produce such a box office success. In its first weekend, District 9 made $37 million and garnered the praises of critics everywhere. Most of all, the film proved that you do not need Hollywood's "best" to make a successful film. Do you hear that sound? It's big budget actors everywhere shaking in their boots.