Film: Contagion
From filmofilia.com.
This film has essentially one storytelling trick, but it’s such a good trick that it makes for very good viewing. A plague hits and heroic doctors and others race the clock to find a cure before the outbreak devastates mankind. The trick is that the film is shot in a po-faced documentary style and kills off its characters without any regard whatsoever for the fame of the actors playing them. It’s sort of like the shower scene in Psycho—where the biggest star in the picture is suddenly slaughtered—taken to a new level. The result in terms of narrative is that you never know who’s going to buy the farm. The more important result in terms of emotional depth is that it really impresses upon you the fragility of life and the flesh. I mean, if someone as famous as so-and-so can wind up staring through the plastic of a body bag then it could happen to anyone.
Director Steven Soderbergh keeps tight control over the sentimentality, going for deeper emotions: a sense of panic, frustration, invisible danger and heroism. He also shows a lot of restraint when it comes to disgusting special effects. Normally a film like this would insist on showing a lot of vomiting and bleeding to produce its horror, but Soderbergh understands that the effect is even stronger without such unpleasantness. Indeed, the more watchable a movie is—the less it turns the stomach—the more power it has to get inside you and grab you where you live.
Good cast—but I have to give a special mention to the wonderful, beautiful and underused Jennifer Ehle, who understands exactly how the picture works and delivers an absolutely mesmerizing and understated performance while surrounded by flashier names. If you’ve never seen her perfect turn as Elizabeth Bennett in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, check it out.
Two cavils: a rather goofy sub-plot concerning Marion Cotillard—who is now apparently to appear in every single movie made—is given short shrift. And a final scene meant to be ironic undercuts the terrifying sense of randomness that pervades the movie with a moment of idiotic environmentalist finger-wagging. Childish Hollywood nonsense spoiling an otherwise excellent moment.
Other than that: really good film. One of the best of a bad year.
Enjoyed it while watching, but afterward felt it a little cold. Couldn’t help but wonder how it would have worked if it had focused on Matt Damon’s character alone, and told the story through his eyes. Great recruitment tool for the CDC though. It does for epidemiologists what THE EXORCIST did for Catholic priests.
“It does for epidemiologists what THE EXORCIST did for Catholic priests.”
The Power of Pasteur compels you! The Power of Pasteur compels you!
“Two cavils: a rather goofy sub-plot concerning Marion Cotillard—who is now apparently to appear in every single movie made—is given short shrift.”
Agreed. Her character (Dr. Leonora Orantes) was completely unnecessary and results in a glaring error in the plot in the closing scenes of the film. After being held captive for most of the film, she is released when her captors receive a ransom payment in the form of flu vaccines for their entire village. Upon learning the flu vaccines were placebos, she appears to go in search of her former captors to warn them. Her captors kept the location of the village a secret, though. So how would she track down her former captors and their village in a nation of 1.3 billion people?
I second the acclamation of Jennifer Ehle.
Totally agree about Jennifer Ehle – who else could have pulled off such a wonderful Elizabeth Bennett. I had the opportunity to see her live on stage about 5 years ago in London, playing the Kate Hepburn role in The Philadelphia Story opposite Kevin Spacey, and she was every bit as great in that role.
Jennifer Ehle gave the most perfect performance ever as Elizabeth Bennett. After seeing her version I couldn’t bring myself to watch more than five minutes of the Keira Knightly travesty. I hadn’t planned on seeing Contagion but after finding out that she’s in it and based on your recomendation I may have to do so.
I just learned today by watching the news that you can’t say a number of words (such as the title to this movie) on social media without being investigated by “the government” ( I take that to mean “intelligence agencies” )
Just thought I’d update you on that. No need to thank me. Only doing my self appointed job of helping the under-informed.