The essential part of any “Martians invade Earth” movie is the human reaction. And it’s almost always an allegory of how we treat ourselves. In the case of District 9, the burden falls on actor Sharlto Copley who embodies a bureaucratic, camera-aware dweeb thrust into the public eye by chance, the portrayal of whom is an absolute revelation. This is archetypal everyman undergoes such a profound change of philosophy – he doesn’t deserve an Oscar, he deserves a Nobel Prize. It’s not that District 9 is totally original -- we’ve seen many of the plot points before. But the tone, the casting, and the portrayal of the reluctant hero are so fresh and so original, it’s impossible not to feel like you’ve seen something completely new. The treatment of the aliens, as the thinly veiled allegory goes, is disgracefully moving. Along with Hurt Locker this is one of the best movies of the year, so far.
Friday, August 14, 2009
District 9
The essential part of any “Martians invade Earth” movie is the human reaction. And it’s almost always an allegory of how we treat ourselves. In the case of District 9, the burden falls on actor Sharlto Copley who embodies a bureaucratic, camera-aware dweeb thrust into the public eye by chance, the portrayal of whom is an absolute revelation. This is archetypal everyman undergoes such a profound change of philosophy – he doesn’t deserve an Oscar, he deserves a Nobel Prize. It’s not that District 9 is totally original -- we’ve seen many of the plot points before. But the tone, the casting, and the portrayal of the reluctant hero are so fresh and so original, it’s impossible not to feel like you’ve seen something completely new. The treatment of the aliens, as the thinly veiled allegory goes, is disgracefully moving. Along with Hurt Locker this is one of the best movies of the year, so far.
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Fifteen minutes of story stretched out over 2 hours. Transformers-like final set piece, unlikeable, stupid lead and an attempt to change the comedic first half into a meaningful allegory. Heavy-handed symbolism and bad, new-age-y "meaningful" music combine to make those two hours feel even longer. Oh, yeah, heavy-handed bad guys, under-developed relationships (there's a picture of the hero's wife with a baby in one shot, then never a mention of the kid at all) and a lot of noise and herky-jerky camera movement to play to the crowd. A major disappointment.
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