I realise this film is not a new release, however I really enjoyed it and thus wanted to share my thoughts on my new discovery, a treasure of the alien film world..
Understandably, this film has been compared to District 9, due to the storyline; the main difference is that Monsters is much more related to relationships and human behaviours. This was demonstrated very well in the scene where Andrew, played beautifully by Scoot McNairy, pays a ridiculous amount of money for a boat to get them to safety, avoiding the infected area. Unfortuantely the last boat is not until the following morning. When Andrew and Samantha go to the boat in the morning, they are forced to pay again. This demonstrates the selfishness that I wuold imagine experiencing if the situation were to occur in reality.
The 'travelling to get back to safety' story seems like it should be outdated and uninteresting, however director Gareth Edwards certainly exceeded my expectations when I soon realised this was not the usual action-packed alien vs. human battlefield which usually ensues in films of this sort. The characters are in depth and very believable; they have accepted the situation and the realism in this acceptance is undeniable.
The blurry hand-held camera used is the new modern approach to film-making (this was namely demonstrated in Blair Witch and Cloverfield), however I have found this to be disappointing in the past. I find it usually makes it more difficult to focus on what is actually happening, however again the director has managed to make this an art and turned it into a lifelike documentary style approach, without the characters appearing to actually be documenting the story as per the previous films mentioned. Perhaps his work on 'In the Shadow of the Moon', a British documentary on the US manned missions to the moon, helped him ascertain such great skills to draw in the viewer.
The last scene, there was no conversation between the two main characters; it was beautiful, meaningful and summed up the relationship between the main characters through the actions of the aliens. Two of the aliens (which are rarely seen alive by non-military humans) come together, spend a special moment in time to converse, or make love or whatever the viewer interprets it to be, then go their separate ways. I cannot describe to you the impact of the scene, this is one you will have to watch yourselves I'm afraid, but it is well worth the wait. Simple and emotive, a great end to a thoroughly enjoyable and beautiful film. Well worth viewing, but not a lighthearted film. Be preapred to be engaged when you watch it - distractions will ruin it, so turn off your Blackberry or Iphone (if it's important, they will leave you a message!), sit back and enjoy.
I will be going to see Attack the Block soon (alien films seem to be a running theme in my reviews at the moment!). This is a Film4 production written and directed by Joe Cornish - that's right, remeber the Adam and Joe show!! I am pretty excited about this one so watch this space.
Until next time fellow film goers, thanks for reading.
CCC
