MOVIE heroes come and movie heroes go. But there can be few movie heroes more unlikely than the hero of Neill Blomkamp’s superb sci-fi picture, District 9.
Meet Wikus Van De Merwe.
A few years ago, British indie moviemaker Alex Cox (Repo Man) wrote about his visit to a screening of the great John Ford Western, The Searchers (1956), in the location where much of it was shot, Monument Valley, Utah.
Reflecting on the troubling ambiguity of The Searchers’ central character, former Confederate soldier turned Indian hunter Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), the organisers of the screening made two posters, both depicting Ethan’s face.
One said “Soldier, Lover, Uncle, Hero” and the other said “Bigot, Racist, Killer ... Hero”.
A similar pair of posters for District 9’s Wikus (Sharlto Copley) might read “Saviour, Lover, Husband, Hero” and “Loser, Racist, Abortionist ... Hero”.
If you feel you could never warm to the characters on either of the “No 2” posters then you’ve a) never seen The Searchers and b) stayed shy of movies that offer no easy answers.
Whatever your first impression of Wikus, by the time you’ve gone on the journey with him, side-by-side, through this action-packed, roller-coaster ride, you will probably never forget him, even if you can’t fully forgive him (and, like Ford’s Ethan, you might be tempted to leave Wikus outside the door if you’re planning a family gathering – particularly if he exhibits some of his more fearful bowel dysfunctions).
Wikus, you see, is the too-tightly-wrapped, not too intelligent bureaucrat entrusted with evicting a million aliens from the vast, titular township in present-day Johannesburg.
The extra-terrestrials arrived 20-odd years ago, in a giant mothership which still hovers over the city, and have become something of a nuisance to the human populace.
The fearful bowel dysfunctions and body-horror transformation begin for Wikus when he is sprayed with a creepy black fluid during his mission to evict these unfortunate, unmotivated, unwelcome “prawns” (as the humans have nicknamed them).
After undergoing a series of painful probings and horrendous experiments, a desperate Wikus finds himself on the run, ostracised from the human population while at the same time priceless to the military-industrial complex figures who value his infected DNA and newly-metamorphosed ability to operate a particularly advanced and powerful array of alien weaponry.
His only hope of returning home, to his much-beloved wife, rests with an intelligent, industrious prawn (Jason Cope) who is planning a great escape of his own.
Produced by Peter (The Lord Of The Rings) Jackson, District 9 is a brilliantly orchestrated, technically stunning meld of Cloverfield-esque “documentary” and state-of-the-art CGI work, resulting in a Bladerunner-level, genre-defining, instant sci-fi classic.
Reminiscent of so many other movies, from The Fly, RoboCop, Starship Troopers and Minority Report to Alfonso Cuaron’s viscerally-involving and idea-heavy Children Of Men, Blomkamp’s tough but wildly entertaining film has the originality, the nous and the classic storytelling strength to survive all the comparisons and still stand proudly on its own two feet.
It’s a horror picture, a love story, a buddy movie and – George Lucas take note – a New Hope. And this time the sequels (or prequels?) should be worth the wait and the watch, especially if Blomkamp and/ or Jackson stay fully involved.
The “alien” setting in Blomkamp’s native South Africa makes this a very different experience from your average, run-of-the-mill Hollywood fare – more Bok-buster than blockbuster? – and allows for some pointed comparisons with the country’s apartheid past. Quite how it plays in South Africa is another question, but let’s just say the Nigerians, in particular, don’t come out of it well.
There are also echoes of the Holocaust in the sinister scenes of human and alien experimentation, but the political satire or historical references are never too in-your-face to slow down the pumped-up action sequences.
Copley, making his feature film debut along with Blomkamp, is a revelation as the multi-faceted, almost painfully human Wikus.
He proves capable of coping not just with the role’s physical demands but also the potent mix of humour, horror and emotional distress, and must surely be a decent Oscar shout.
Unlikely? Well, that’s Wikus for you.