Here’s a bit of fun trivia: Neill Blomkamp was once signed up to direct a film adaptation of the “Halo” series of video games alongside producer Peter Jackson. The funding for the project never really got off the ground (except for a mildly entertaining and well-filmed promotional short), and 20th Century Fox backed out before most of the filming had taken place.
From the remains of the defunct “Halo” movie, Blomkamp and company cobbled together a low-budget sci-fi action film based on his previous short film “Alive in Joburg.” The film was entitled “District 9.” And it was fan-freakin’-tastic. Sharp, real, touching and geographically relevant, the film was a brilliantly composed piece that explored the uneasy themes of civil rights and segregation leftover from apartheid in South Africa. The documentary-style cinematography and intelligent social commentary meshed frighteningly well to form a narrative that was simultaneously exciting and haunting in the sheer explicit details provided by excellent effects and contemplative world building.
Like it or loathe it, it certainly put Neill Blomkamp on the map. With a fresh reputation as the cinema scene’s brightest and smartest action director, there was a lot of expectation set for his next major project. It’s a bit of a letdown, then, that his new film “Elysium” is a stumble after something as tight and provocative as “District 9.”
Let’s not mince words. “Elysium” is amazing. It’s definitively one of the best films of the summer. Top-notch performances from every actor involved, including a standout role from Sharlto Copley, who is proving to be a very effective character actor. The aesthetics of the film are wondrous to behold and starkly realized, easing the strain of the fast-paced cinematography and allowing immediate differentiation between the upper-class Elysian sterility and the filthy, crumbling ruins of Earth.
Every little detail of the world—its denizens, its locations, its technology—is on glorious, fully lit display. The film runs true to the old adage of “show, don’t tell,” and nearly everything has its narrative and in-universe functions communicated by design and the sequence in which shots are edited. “Elysium” reminds us that Neill Blomkamp is not only possesses a creative mind and deep understanding of poignant thematics, but is also gifted at imbuing his work with a strong visual personality that is easily recognizable and wondrously complex.
If “Elysium” has any problems (and it does), it’s really only in comparison to its spiritual predecessor. The cinematographic elements of the narrative are rather clumsily handled at the beginning of the film, and it really is a pet peeve of mine when a film falls back on textual exposition to clue an audience in to plot or setting details (which is still always better than dialogue exposition, because at least with text you admit that what’s being said is there only for the audience).
One of greatest technical aspects of “District 9” was the seamless meshing of the handheld, documentary-style cinematography with the more traditional opening news broadcasts and interviews. It formed a very elegant method of providing exposition without limiting the character development and human element that make the themes of the film so strong and resonant. It was so graceful and flowed into the bulk of the film so well that you barely even felt the transition from documentary to film and back. It really made the story and events feel alive, like they were actually taking place in our world during our time.
“Elysium,” meanwhile, eschews such clever filmmaking in favor of a much more traditional narrative setup that, although clean and well-done, creates a gulf between our world and its world. The scathing critiques of monetary classism and cutthroat industrialism that the setting and characters serve are delicately balanced and thought-provoking, but “Elysium” doesn’t quite live up to the expectations set by its birthright. By no means should you miss out on it, though. Merely on its own merits, it’s a magnificent work and another solid hit for Blomkamp. Just don’t be surprised if you walk out of the cinema feeling a teensy bit let down.
