Behind Elysium's nasty and neat worlds or Why the hippo did it

There, no ifs, ands or buts about it, was something more to breathtakingly shot yet, nevertheless, following simplistic plot movie directed by Neill Blomkamp, I pondered over after seeing it the first time. One can call it over-thinking, I tend to posit it as looking deeply into the subject. Majority of the modern films are so explicit with their messages (if any whatsoever) recklessly rammed straight down your throat by means of protagonists shouting out formulaic words of motivation, that any picture lending itself to puzzling experience (in my eyes), grabs my interest immediately. I literally fell in love with this picture, and there are at least five unbeatable reasons.

Cinema verite style

Albeit set a hundred and forty years ahead and riding largely on coattails of futuristic technology, Elysium offers convincingly realistic tiny details and whole ambiances for both frazzled Earth and dazzling titular station. Bellowing clouds of dust and columns of smoke over littered skyscraper slums versus bright varicoloured spots of distant lights throughout immaculate and tranquil night view; missing letters in hospital's name on the building as against luxury brand logos plastered on every piece of equipment possible; soiled tap water in plastic glass contrary to served by droids champaign in squeaky-clean goblets, and so on.

Shooting technique amalgamates the feeling of reality. Camera is never stationary, it always pans, dollies, zooms or follows giving the focus (or trying to grip it thereby) from pertinent for the moment point of view, adequate enough to catch up on the overall scene, still bewildering at the moments of galloping happenings. Haven't you ever had a notion when you suddenly find yourself falling down that it was the ground rising up to hit you? Speaking in terms of POV, in order to reflect circumstances and feelings of the main character, there are in-cut blurred, muted, slow motion and densely edited sequences intertwined with plain narrative line. Elysium is never boringly monotonous, however, in comparison to ingenious confections of high-budget films, it employs special effects thoughtfully and moderately, rendering the picture strikingly plausible.

Enhancing, not out-standing score

Secondly, the film sounds in harmoniously rich key. Its score is versatile enough with variety and intensity to uphold the sequences, but does not come on too strong to outrank the other components of the film's integrity. Snippets of electronic and classic music, diegetic tones and those of characters' emotional colouring, clanking and whirring noises of working equipment and overlapping voices at crowded places, deafened and buzzing bits are masterfully intermixed and transitioned to weave the canvas on which the picture is rolled out.

Likeable characters without exception

The third criterion to praising Elysium goes to its acting crew, and particularly to its both star leads for keeping their personages in the frames of film's groove untainted by personal celebritism. Matt Damon in disguise of unassuming ex-convict, dragging through the motions of mundane living and egotistically repelling rational and sublime notions in order to save his own neck, looks way better shaven bald and stripped of formal suits than all his three Borne reincarnations et al. Jodie Foster seemed to have never been possessed with her screen pulchritude at all, on the other hand, so she is refresheningly charming in her role of ambitious corporate bitch wearing slick attires and impeccable coiffure.

Nevertheless, those two are far from stealing the show, so much compelling, self-sufficient and well-outlined are supporting types of psychotic Kruger, short-tempered Spider, winsome Julio, arrogant Carlyle, and compassionate Frey. In fact, half-way into the movie, yet after certain gruesome events and clues, you can find yourself rooting for quite the opposite personae rather than the ones you are meant to. Because scars, props and brief evaluations put on extra facets for inkling on what may have led to the circumstances each of the characters is now in.

Moreover, Elysium evokes intangible still persistent sense of natural camaraderie pervading each camp – Max with his neighbourhood including long-fled Frey, Kruger and the “preferable agents”, Spider along with nightclub henchmen of all trades and walks of life – leaving you ultimately convinced those people know each other for ages. Hence, there is genuine delight in watching unverbalised responses that are being imparted through tiniest changes of countenance, via posture and body movements, especially if you consider how curt and meagre is the film with wording.

Hidden message (Chapter contains spoilers!)

There is one and only collateral and articulate sub-story in the film, narrated by a little girl. It's about a naïve act of friendship. The protagonist shakes off its effect on him right after he hears tell of it, because the best friend for a hippo will be ...another hippo, or a rhino, or any other animal of a size. Only after having gone the distance Max acknowledges the tale with his last words and notes inference, “I figured out why the hippo did it.” And by this uttering, I think, he doesn't crib a keynote expressed back nearly a half a film, since it was explained away as “The hippo wants a friend”, but sooner implies more profound meaning apropos to and reflecting his own experience from the last harrowing day.

Outraged by go-getters attempting to lay hold of his neural data and tensed up with guilty compunctions for involving Frey in his selfish combat for life, Max changes his mind diametrically opposite to former decision. The lead character is forced to “grow up” and learn to take responsibility in less than one day, the vast step in maturity that he didn't managed to make during all his life at gradual pace. That is the natural desire to take care of those who are smaller and weaker than yourself.

Needless to mention it cannot be a coincidence that almost every essential film's character speaks of children or has first-hand relation. Max's flashbacks educe his childhood memories about Spanish nun taking care of him. Frey has severely-ill daughter to look after. Delacourt suddenly inquires if the President has children to protect, at the time of her administrative reproach. Spider, while mocking Max's hope for getting cured, grounds his denial on that he has “got little kids coming in here every day” with the same entreaty of salvation. At last, Kruger states, “I don't believe in committing violent acts in front of kids” at the moment of Frey's interrogation.

The last Max's glance at Earth globe floating above Elysium station, and its image in the nun's gift locket alike, may help even further in translating the self-sacrifice for saving Matilda into rescuing the entire planet. Which gives rise to the whole lot of subsequent questions, such as, what can pose the final warning to humanity about gravely urgent need in care of the home planet until it has reached the point of no ecological return?.. If you ponder over it for a minute, you will find more allegories and alerts the picture shrouds, like the remarked white/grey/pale horse during the hijack sequence.

References to my favourites

In the fifth place, and this reason for liking Elysium is very personal, the picture is amply loaded with credits to Alien and Aliens in its structure (build-up progress takes no less than two-thirds into the film), with visual and aural aesthetic qualities (blue-lit scenes, amber flashing lights, metallic gear clashing sounds, battered and dusty space vehicles, etc.), and due to naming Kruger's subordinates after two characters from Cameron's epic, Drake and Crowe.

Cannot help the guilty pleasure to post this photo here!

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