Confession time (as seems to be a tradition with film reviews I make).
I. Haven't. Seen. District. 9.
That felt like a proper "I'm Laura and I haven't had a drink in 12 days" type confession. Also, vaguely cathartic. I suggest you try it some time.
District 9, if you are like me and avoided it, was a film that seemed to appear out of the undergrowth and introduced a whole new form of class-ism into society (apartheid but instead of racism through colour, it was racism through well, being an alien (an actual alien)), giving us plenty to talk about. As I haven't seen it, I cannot comment but friends and family who have seen it (ie, most of them) were extremely impressed. It was for that reason we went to see Blomkamp's sophomore effort, 'Elysium'.
My, what a lot of food for thought. I should point out that when I first left the movie theatre, I was in awe of this movie and my review would probably have been very different. In the cold (rainy) light of day, there are more plotholes in this movie than Swiss cheese so, we shall see where I go with this review.
First, a summary so you get where I'm going with this. The year is 2154 and Earth has become unbearable. Therefore, those with money have eloped to Elysium, an 'intergalactic' space station hanging above Earth (it can be accessed by pod in ~15 minutes or so to give you an idea of closeness). Down on Earth however, it is like one large shanty town. Everyone is fighting for space, jobs, healthcare; you name it, we haven't got enough of it. Therefore, people are illegally entering Elysium airspace to try and get medical attention. Yes, you guessed it. This was a film centered around healthcare and our ability to access it dependent on class and money. Obamacare, anyone? Also, Pixar might have got in on a similar story five years earlier; be the judge of that yourself.
Unfortunately, that is all it is about but not all it could be about. You get me? The world of Elysium is great and filled with potential (ie, some of the questions my mum asked me after were like; why don't all doctors leave Earth if they can afford to be in Elysium? There is still class-ism on Earth as some people had wide screen TVs and some people didn't. Is Elysium more communist in that everyone has greatness and no one is in the lower echelons of society? How is the political structure on Earth if politicians leave to be on Elysium because they can afford it? HOW DOES THE ATMOSPHERE STAY ON ELYSIUM IF THERE IS NO ROOF? (if you see it, this question will become clear and if you have an answer, please let me know!)) but was so underexplored. Instead, we spent time scrabbling on Earth which was not half as interesting.
However, the cinematography was stunning. Visually, Blomkamp created a clear divide between the lush, rich environment on Elysium where life is technicolour, whilst Earth was multiple shades of grey. The shanty town in Mexico City where this was filmed (but was meant to be Los Angeles (oh how the great do fall)) illustrated the true desperation society could reach if allowed to make it that far and only highlighted the true extreme differences between the two habitats.
Yet, even with the flawed story, the acting in Elysium was top notch. Matt Damon never fails to impress me. Having seen his other summer release, Behind the Candelabra (at least it was in the UK) where his character couldn't be more different, I never felt I was watching the same actor. Max comes to life in Damon's hands and he plays the character sympathetically and creates someone we cannot help but root for, despite the crimes he must commit. Jodie Foster, the other major name in this movie was both brilliant but undervalued. Her part felt very short, a blink and you miss her character. She was billed as the villain of the piece, but personally, I think that award goes to the agent she hires, played expertly by Sharlto Copley, a Blomkamp alum. He gave terrifying a whole new face (literally, as you will see). His part was in equal parts (okay, maybe 60-40) menacing and hilarious. He was an attempt of comic relief yet the most dark comedy you've ever witnessed. He needed a 'Do Not Underestimate' tag on his army kit, I can tell you.
All in all, Elysium is a film worth seeing if only because Dystopia is a fascinating subject. It is interesting to see where the world could go. Personally, I'd prefer Elysium over some other scenarios (the Hunger Games = I'd die in the first five seconds or 1984 = the idea of limiting knowledge scares me more than anything) but if we could try and avoid it, that'd be swell, ta.
tl;dr?: Personally, I think Wall-E told a similar story but was hella cuter. Better luck next time, Blomkamp. A film worth seeing if only because analysis in the aftermath is so great. ★★★½*☆
(yes, I did say I'd do a book and a film review. This just grew to be a monster so I'm going to do a book-only review in the next post!)
(*read ½ as a half star and this will remain the same in all future posts)
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