Quote:
Originally Posted by itom 987
Authors and script writers will finally have fresh ideas for new movies.
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Been there, done that.
CONTAGION - 2011
Illustrates the worst case scenario of a global viral pandemic from multiple points of view, as ordinary people become severely ill and must be cared for by their loved ones, and harried doctors struggle to contain the disease.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Scott Z. Burns
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet
"Contagion" is a scary movie where the villain is ourselves, the murder weapon our touch. It's a thriller debuting 16 years after "Outbreak," the last major virus extravaganza, only this latest effort has been updated to match today's technological reach and governmental scrutiny, registering with a more subtle sense of fear than whipping around with wild hysterics. It's a Steven Soderbergh film after all, so it's going to maintain some equanimity. However, as reserved and procedural as it is, "Contagion" should have most audience members radically reassessing exactly what they touch during an average day.
Returning home to Minneapolis after a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow) has become deathly ill with mysterious symptoms, leaving husband Thomas (Matt Damon) powerless to help. Assigned to investigate this new virus, Dr. Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) and Dr. Mears (Kate Winslet) seek to find the source of the outbreak, while scientist Ally (Jennifer Ehle, in a delightfully unexpected performance) works to develop a cure. As the virus spreads across the globe, hope is replaced by fear as society is torn apart by desperation and rumor, instigated by Krumweide (Jude Law), a rogue blogger who's been following the progress of the bug since the beginning. As the days pass and the body count rises, the race to find a solution to the plague is gradually surpassed by the need to control an increasingly restless population desperate for answers.
"Contagion" is Soderbergh's horn-rimmed version of an Irwin Allen disaster movie, utilizing the talents of an enormous cast (also including Elliot Gould, Bryan Cranston, John Hawkes, Sanjay Gupta, Demetri Martin, and Sanaa Lathan) to coolly dramatize the end of the world. It's a multi-character journey of paranoia and skepticism, spotlighting a few individuals dealing with viral concerns while the world steadily erupts into chaos. Unlike Allen's broad productions, "Contagion" isn't escapism, yet it's not exactly hard science either. Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns like to exist in that gray area of concern, building the anxiety brick by brick, leaving the audience to guess what the ultimate shape of the pandemic is going to be.
This is a movie that lingers on the items we touch every single day, from elevator buttons to handrails, exposing the thousands of invisible interactions that take place without awareness. Soderbergh cleverly holds on these innocent behaviors, creating a terrifying sense of unavoidable disaster as the virus hitches a ride around the world, waiting to be picked up by any poor sap silly enough to touch their own face. It's a brutal antagonist, with a body count in the millions. Soderbergh isn't shaping a heated apocalyptic thriller, but the images of doomsday are quite vivid, requiring nothing more than a close-up of a peanut dish at a bar to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
"Contagion" attempts to tell a worldwide story on an intimate scale, jumping around the planet as these doctors and civilians deal with the outbreak. Not all of the subplots work, finding Burns depending on some sleepy conventions to tie the film together (Marion Cotillard is wasted as a World Health Organization official taken hostage), and Krumweide's destructive arrogance feels more conventional than diabolical, striking a bizarre note of blogger satisfaction and profound national influence that doesn't read as realistic. Despite a few speed bumps along the way, "Contagion" creates a credible portrait of a world gone mad, highlighting the detachment of government measures and the struggle of the common man, observing Mitch deal with closed borders, scarcity of food, and a teen daughter who can't stand the isolation. The director keeps the plates spinning confidently for most of the picture, manufacturing a feature more interested in extracting unease than shaking viewers until they wet themselves.
As a tool to encourage rabid hand washing and dissuade anyone from choosing Hong Kong as a tourist destination, "Contagion" is most effective, boosted by a gifted cast contributing a winning, furrow-browed intensity to help amplify the message. The film hits expected notes of cinematic dread, but it's more consumed with a slow suffocation, presenting a viral outbreak with some degree of practicality. "Contagion" doesn't attack, it builds slowly to a point of no return.
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) sits on its arse and did little or nothing to address this issue. Now its scrambling like mad (with all the issues of physical distancing) to fix the issue.
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