Movies Contagion

Score: ***1/2 out of *****

Long Story Short: Contagion is a very effective thriller/disaster film, better in many ways than most of its genre brethren. Good editing and writing provide a great sense of realism, and you may find yourself depressed (in a good way) about what would happen to you in such a situation. A great cast (though some with necessarily small roles) gives the film genuine human characters. An entertaining, if somewhat flawed time at the movies.

Unfortunately, I'm rather late with this movie. If you're interested in seeing it and still haven't, you may have to wait for it to hit dollar theaters or DVD. The trailers for this certainly caught my attention with its suspense and big-name cast. When it got a good score on Rotten Tomatoes, my mind was made up; it just took me awhile to get there. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, The Good German) and stars a lot of people I'll mention as they come up ;)

Like a virus itself, Contagion begins at the individual level - here, a family consisting of Beth (Paltrow), Mitch (Damon), and their young son. Beth has just returned from a trip to Hong Kong, and she has a nasty cough; the next morning, she collapses and Mitch takes her to the hospital where, to Mitch's utter disbelief, she perishes within minutes. He is immune, but by then it's too late for his son. Meanwhile, the CDC begins to learn of this spreading disease, and Dr. Cheever (Fishbourne) puts Dr. Mears (Winslet) in charge of tracking down where it is coming from. In the labs, scientists are baffled by the strange and deadly thing.

News of the disease begins to spread even more quickly than the virus itself, and journalist / slimeball Krumwiede (Law) decides to make a name for himself on the internet. He does, but also sends the public into a hysteria trying to acquire forsythia, a drug he blogs can cure the disease. The CDC and its hard-working but overwhelmed staff (including epidemiologist Orantes - Cotillard - sent to Hong Kong) start to lose control of the situation, and widespread quarantines are invoked. Eventually, tireless lab worker Dr. Hextall discovers a vaccine - but it's not the end of the story.

Contagion, as you can see, features quite an array of characters in their stories, and features a star playing each of them. I suppose Matt Damon is probably the main character - and biggest star - here. His role is primarily that of concerned, protective and loving dad, one that he does well. Nothing special, but he makes his character as convincing as you'd want him to be. Next up is Laurence Fishbourne, playing Dr. Cheever, (I believe) head of the CDC. Always a great choice for a figure of authority, Fishbourne does his usual great stuff, and also is effective when it comes to the more personal side of his character. Smaller roles include Cotillard, Paltrow, Cranston (didn't even know it was him at the time), Jennifer Ehle, and Elliot Gould, who all do fine jobs but don't have the time to shine too much.

The best two roles, in my opinion, are Kate Winslet as Dr. Mears and Jude Law as Krumwiede. Winslet's character is courageous, though not blindly so; you can tell she is still frightened, for herself and others. She has a very effective professional partnership with Dr. Cheever, but one that is also appropriately affectionate. A hero in over her head, but determined to do all she can, anyway. On the opposite side of the spectrum we have Krumwiede, who just exudes sliminess. But Law does not overplay his deplorable, even villainous, character - Krumwiede seems to be certain of his own righteousness. His arrogance and outrage are genuine.

Contagion seems to be classified as a thriller, which is somewhat accurate. It's really a combo of thriller and disaster film. I've seen enough of the latter to know the easy pitfalls of the genre; some it avoids, some it doesn't. Like most disaster films, Contagion does a great job of the build up - how serious is it? What kind of effects are there, both macro and micro? In fact, it does this even better than most, because it seems quite realistic. Unfortunately, the edge-of-your-seat suspense really fades in the second half, but perhaps the expectations had just been built up too much early. With so many characters and mini-story lines, good editing is even more critical here than in most films. For most of the film, it is handled quite well, and contributes to the suspense. However, too many of the film's plot threads die away without much resolution.

***

This is not the type of film - unless done really, really, well - that tends to become one of the year's best. And this isn't one of the exceptions. However, with that said, it is one of the best of its kind I've seen, and one that was clearly made with care, creativity and purpose rather than just "hey, let's make a movie about an epidemic with lots of stars." Like other disaster films, it gives you that sense of society-level dread. But it also does a great (and terrifying) job of letting you imagine yourself in such a situation, and how the disease itself is only a fraction of the problem in such a hypothetical situation. A bit of an issue I had was with a plot point *SPOILERS!!! (highlight with cursor to read)* that at first the disease seemed to be a super fast, unstoppable killer, which killed all the sample tissues that the CDC tried to test... yet later in the movie, we find the actual mortality rate is *only* 25%. Huh? *END SPOILERS* And the abrupt endings of several character arcs was rather troubling. But the ending is very nice, unlike many films of its genre. So if you're in the mood for suspense, I'd recommend you give this a try.