District 9

Category: Film
Genre:  Sci Fi / Drama
Directed By:  Neill Blomkamp
Running Time:  112 min.

District 9 is the most intriguing film I have seen a good long while.  Thought provoking and well crafted on all fronts I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a plot driven work, where story is of the first priority.  The cast, while well chosen, is comprised largely of unknowns so as not to distract from the experience.  The protagonist, Wikus Van De Merwe, an everyman character thrust into extraordinary circumstances, provides a vehicle for the audience to see the different facets of the transformative story arc.  Transforming from an outsider to an outcast plays delightfully, and tugs at the strings on our perceptions of segregation and persecution.

Set in Johannesburg South Africa (check), the story sets the alien within the marginally unfamiliar, blending these elements and softening the contrasts, which helps play towards the plausible feeling throughout.  District 9 succeeds greatly in creating a lived in feel, set in the present with an alternate history, establishing an encapsulated dystopia surrounded by everyday trappings of contemporary experience.

At its core this is a story truly about human nature, rather than alien.  The aliens, colloquially  referred to a s Prawns, behave and emote is very human ways, especially as their circumstances trend the behavior towards all too familiar lowest common denominator of human activities.  This inherent grafted humanity lends poignancy to the story, and helps to ground the plot in reality, albeit an altered one.  Man’s inhumanity to man is not restricted to humans; as we see any class of perceived outsider gets the same treatment.

On the reverse of this is Wikus’s continuing humanity, which we see fracture as the story plays out.  He feels the same love and connection to his wife, even once fully transformed into an alien, but loses much of the rest of his humanity once pursued once he finds himself up against the preverbal wall.  Darkly reflected against his humanity is the primary Prawn in the story, “Christopher Johnson”, as he is cast as intelligent and feeling, protecting his son, mourning his abused brethren and still reaching to find his way home.

Underneath the plot and performance, this remains a science fiction film, by virtue of the “what if” question at its core and the fantastic elements at its surface.  Serving this are a host of special effects, pulled off in nearly transparent fashion, serving the story rather than distracting from it.

District 9 is crafted in a manner that makes the whole experience uncomfortably plausible, and both the overtones and undercurrents of social issues and the human condition are hard to ignore once one gets to thinking about it.  A solid story, well told while avoiding the common pitfalls of standard fare, this film set the bar high indeed.

Rating: 8/10

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Category: Film
Genre: Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi
Directed By: David Fincher
Running Time: 159 min.

This is one of those rare instances of fine storytelling brought to the screen in just the right way. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button does one of the most interesting things that can be done in fiction. It explores the human condition by changing just one of the major rules of our existence, and watching that path unfold against the backdrop of a life.

In this case the simple but major rule that changes is aging. The chronological age of Button’s character is juxtaposed in reverse with his physical age. This fundamentally changes how he experiences the world and how the world views him, providing grist for insight and new perspective.

This work is sure to be mentioned in the same breath as Forrest Gump, and for a number of reasons. Primary, though not necessarily the most readily apparent, is this is a story without an antagonist, built purely on character development and driven by the same.   Both films use similar protagonist types, the embedded outsider if you will;  by showing the world through their eyes the audience is allowed to examine it anew. This is also a film bound to time, though the creators take a different, softer approach to the portrayal of time here; in Gump time and pop culture events were nearly a character themselves in the story telling.

The layered narrative works well as the key device for advancing the story, allowing access when and where needed. Anchoring the diary and the events of its reading in 2005 by linking them (tangentially) to the events preceding hurricane Katrina also serves the story well.

While this will be called a romance by many, the success of the treatment comes from the organic way the romance fits into the story, rather than it feeling heavy or artificial. It weaves and flows through the story, instead of being written as a cumbersome foundation to the characters and plot.

Casting in this picture was excellent, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett carry the lead roles in a way that, along with the supporting cast, garner nearly total buy-in to the story. The effects in this film are nearly transparent, serving the story telling and not announcing themselves unduly. The aging makeup work is believable and allows the viewer to accept each stage of the characters’ development. This is an important point, as once you buy into the nature of Button’s existence, it holds a mirror up to all the elements of life around it. There were many places there the creators could have copped out and opted for a happier treatment, but instead took what I feel was the brave and honest approach to the material, following it from start to finish with all the emotional repercussions that entails.

I truly enjoyed this film, in both its concept and its execution. As I said it is one of those rare examples of well crafted storytelling from start to finish.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Category: Film
Genre: Sci-Fi / Drama / Remake
Directed By: Scott Derrickson
Running Time: 103 min.

Remaking films certainly has its challenges and pitfalls. Directly comparing 2008’s The Day the Earth Stood Still to the 1950 original with no allowances would be absurd, and not make for much of a review.

As with many remakes, especially science fiction films, the concerns, fears, and hope of the era in which it was made are the driving force behind its relevance. Science fiction is about answering the question of “what if?”, so a new answer is required in remaking the film nearly 60 years later, replacing concerns of man’s inhumanity towards man with the damage man has done to the planet.

The film was reasonably well executed, keeping elements from the first but reinterpreting where appropriate. Keanu Reeves was well cast as he has the blankness and detachment necessary to truly play the character of Klatu. Gort was also nicely reinterpreted, and the supporting visual effects were nicely done as well.

The other casting was a bit off; Kath Bates seemed neither right nor wrong for the role of Secretary of Defense, but simply irrelevant. The military casting was also too much of a charicture, robbing serious moments of their impact. Jaden Smith did well as Jacob, though I found myself very much disliking his character until around the midpoint of the film. Couldn’t quite believe Jennifer Connelly as a mother figure, but perhaps that was inherent to the character rather than a performance failure on her part.

As for the film’s conclusion I think it was the right way to go, both making the title relevant (perhaps more so than in the original) and also providing the reprieve ending with out the world getting off scott free with no consequences.
All in all an entertaining film, though I think if we put half the energy into original projects as we do in remakes, we would have some much more praise-worthy material out there.

Rating: 5/10