Film: Contagion
Cast includes: Gwyneth Paltrow (The Talented Mr. Ripley), Matt Damon (The Talented Mr. Ripley), John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone), Jude Law (Enemy at the Gates), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Laurence Fishburne (Mystic River)
Director: Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven)
Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller (2011)
In brief: Day 2: Hong Kong… “They’re calling my flight,” Beth says getting off the phone. Chicago… Beth’s cough is getting worse as she waits for her connecting flight to Minneapolis. Day 3: Atlanta… the CDC’s biggest concern seems to be mercury in fish. San Francisco… Freelance journalist, Alan Krumwiedi, is on the hunt for his next big assignment. Minneapolis… What’s wrong with Beth? Is it jetlag? Day 4: Minneapolis… Beth is foaming at the mouth. Her husband calls 911… Beth is failing fast. She just doesn’t respond… her heart stops… and their young son now has the same symptoms.
Day 5: Geneva Switzerland… the World Health Organization suspects they’re seeing clusters of a nasty contagious disease. Minneapolis… OMG… Beth’s autopsy reveals shocking findings. Day 6: Minnesota… Dr. Mears talks to public health and government officials about containing this disease. The government folks don’t want to “freak everyone out before the biggest shopping day of the year.” Dr. Mears explains the R-O (reproductive rate of the virus). It’s serious and it’s scary.
As the virus spreads, doctors, public health folks, researchers and the news media are racing to do what they do… some treat patients, some try to slow the spread of the disease, some try to find answers. The media spreads information… some helpful… some not. But the key to isolating this thing is to find ground zero… where did it begin?
If you love sci-fi disaster films, you may not love this one. Its narrative never reaches the dramatic fever pitch of a traditional sci-fi thriller. On the other hand, the filmmakers have given us a level of realism we don’t find in typical films of this genre. If you’ve read much about the Great Influenza of 1918, you’ll recognize many of the same characteristics in this 2011 contagion. Creative limitations require that thousands of researchers be represented as one researcher, thousands of public health workers be represented as one person, etc. But if you can forgive the creative license, this story is unusually realistic for a disaster thriller. The plausibility of this contagion almost makes it more frightening than the typical disaster thriller that tries a lot harder to be scary.
3 popped kernels
A realistic look at a disaster that really could happen
Popcorn Profile
Rated: PG-13
Primary Audience: Young adults
Gender Appeal: Any audience
Distribution: Mainstream wide release
Mood: Somber
Tempo: Cruises comfortably
Visual Style: Nicely varnished realism
Character Development: Not that kind of film
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Pure entertainment & informative
