Rating of
3/4
Contagion - It Will Grow On You
Chris Kavan - wrote on 09/10/11
While there are no shortage of films portraying the effects that a virus can have on humanity - everything from the zombie-esque 28 Days Later to the sci-fi-leaning Andromeda Strain and more down-to-earth Outbreak - Steven Soderbergh takes a different approach with Contagion. There are no heroics here - no chases or shootouts, no globe-spanning romance, no magic or myth - Contagion is all about keeping things real, and that's what makes it so effective.
When one of the movies biggest stars dies about ten minutes into the film, you know things are going to get grim. That would be Beth Emhoff - Gwyneth Paltrow - who has just returned home to Minneapolis from Hong Kong with a bad case of jet lag that turns out to be something much more dangerous. And she's not the only one - London, China, Chicago (where Beth stopped off for a fling with an ex) - suddenly people are getting seizures and dying.
The CDC and WHO gets to work tracking down the origins of the virus and working on a vaccine. Laurence Fishburne plays the head of the CDC, Dr. Ellis Cheever - Kate Winslett is Dr. Erin Mears, the woman sent out on to the field. Marion Cotillard is the WHO official trying to figure out the origins of the virus. Rounding out the cast are Matt Damon as Beth's husband Mitch and Jude Law as Alan Krumwiede, a conspiracy-theorist blogger with his own agenda.
One of the things I love about this film is that none of these characters are presented as glamorous - when they get sick, they look sick. Matt Damon looks like a harried father. And the emotions coming off the actors feels genuine. It keeps it firmly in the realm of reality. Some people may have been hoping for more action or panic, but for me, limiting the movie to the handful of characters was the right choice.
The movie is presented as a kind of time-line, showing how the virus travels as officials scramble for answers. There is some scientific jargon thrown around for good effect, but not so much that it's hard to follow. The breakdown of society is shown is smaller scenes - a news report mentions that 25% of law enforcement has stopped showing up - in Minneapolis there are riots and Matt Damon watches as his neighbors are robbed and most likely shot, while in San Fransisco garbage piles up and there are uprisings at the pharmacy. It's not long before mass graves show up and states seal up borders.
While I knew some people were not going to make it, I was actually surprised that most of the main characters made it out alive. Jude Law's caustic blogger should have got two to the head, but instead he pretty much makes out just fine to continue his 12-million unique page-view rantings. Most of the scientists make it out alive, though not without consequences from their actions (good and bad).
This is a film presented in a way that makes you fully aware of how fragile our world really is. I'm not saying I'm going to become a germaphob or anything, but it makes you think just how easy it would be for something like this to spread. The virus in question - a bat/pig hybrid that jumps to humans - is even in the realm of possibility. West Nile, H1N1 - as Fishburn puts it - there's no need to weaponize these kind viruses, animals do that on their own.
The movie moves a bit slow, but I feel the tension is kept high throughout. Other than a few saccharine moments at the end of the film, the movie keeps that grim feel throughout. It is a bit depressing, but then what else would you expect from an epidemic that kills tens of millions of people? This is no feel-good movie, and it might make you compulsively wash your hands - but it also makes you think, and there are fewer and fewer films that can achieve that goal.
