When Outbreak came out in 1995, a germ phobia spread rapidly through the country. The new apocalyptic thriller, Contagion, though surprisingly different, will inspire legions of people to drown themselves in Purell to prevent events in the movie from happening in the real world as well.
An unknown and deadly disease is spreading from person to person all over the world. This mysterious disease has never been seen before, and it can kill you within a day. Patient zero (the first person to be come infected) has vaguely been identified as the cheating wife (Gweneth Paltrow). The movie has many separate and interconnected story lines. Scientists (chiefly Laurence Fishburne) are trying to identify and stop the highly contagious virus, while trying to figure out a way to warn the public without sending them into a panicking frenzy. The husband of patient zero, with an apparent immunity, works to keep his daughter safe from the disease and violent rioters.
There is an obscene amount of big name stars in this movie. Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus from The Matrix), Kate Winslet (Rose from Titanic), Matt Damon (Bourne trilogy), Jude Law (Cold Mountain). And then there are people you’d never expect to see in an medical movie, like comedian Demetri Martin. His presence as a serious scientist removed the necessary tension there was supposed to be. Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) also pops up as a pretty risk assessor. All they actors played their roles just as well as always, but because they were all such different actors with different styles, everything got a bit confusing.
The director, Steven Soderbergh (the Ocean’s trilogy) did a great job orchestrating the big twists in the movie, and he did an even better job with the small things. A cough here, a death there; it was all very gripping.
The special effects of rabid people foaming at the mouth and pale and rotting flesh were so disgustingly real, that it made me wash my hands and face with unbelievable thoroughness. On the downside, the scientists’ germ-free suits made them look like the minions from Despicable Me, and the Bubble-Boy suits were a bit silly-looking. In the background, there was hardly any music, except for some electronic beats meant to intensify the feeling of dread in the audience.
Although Contagion is supposed to be about the spread of a disease, it was more about what happens when the panic takes hold of the public. The movie showed scenes of people looting abandoned shops and rioting pharmacies, like warnings of what might come of us if we really are hit by some disaster. Then, there were the subtle shots of someone convulsing seen through a doorway and a kitchen counter. One scene that really stuck with me was when Damon’s character looked out the window of his house and heard 4 muffled pops in the house next door; it was very much in the style of Truman Capote.
Contagion is an evenly paced movie that brings out all your negative emotions. It’s cast and director do their jobs beautifully. It lets you fill in gaps with your own imagination, however, I would not go so far as to say it was a work of art, but Contagion certainly takes no prisoners.
