Contagion: Movie Review
Contagion
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne,
Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Jennifer Ehle
Director: Steven Soderbergh
If you've ever been worried about a viral outbreak and the costs of a
pandemic, this is not the film you want to see.
In the latest ensemble drama, Paltrow stars as Beth Emhoff, who's just back
from a trip to Hong Kong - and is feeling somewhat rough. However, having
returned to her Minneapolis home to hubby Mitch (Damon), she promptly collapses,
has seizures and dies.
At the same time, others begin to display similar symptoms and pretty soon,
the Department of Homeland Security meets with Dr Cheevers (Fishburne) of the
Centre for Disease Control amid fears it's a biological attack aimed to cripple
America over Thanksgiving weekend.
So Cheevers dispatches an epidemiologist Dr. Erin Mears (Winslet) to
Minneapolis to begin an investigation into what's going on - but it could all be
too late amid fears the MEV1 pandemic's about to sweep the world. And with
society breaking down amid quarantines and supplies shortages, there's
everything at stake.
Contagion is a masterful film - it's intelligent, based on some good science
and solid research and to be frank, utterly terrifying in places.
But unlike other Hollywood blockbusters of a similar ilk, this doesn't go for
overblown action and hysteria - this latest from Soderbergh is more of a
creeping dread and richly unsettling given how much reality it's based in.
There's been some serious scientific research into how diseases are tackled,
the actuality of society breaking down and the methods of how scientists would
react amid the unleashing of a new global virus.
The disparate threads of the story come together very well - and throw in a
solid ensemble cast and you've got a recipe for unnerving cinema, replete with
the possibilities of how it'd unfold. Tensions, disputes and a microcosm of
detail are Soderbergh's specialities here and because of the depth of
information, it's a gripping watch.
Don't get me wrong - this isn't a dull watch at all; it's simply a highly
intelligent and smartly presented, masterfully crafted and brilliantly acted
piece of What If? disaster movie that is so horrifying because of the depth of
its research and the plausibility of its scenario. With reigned in directing and
restrained acting, it's brutally successful at being so terrifying.
Just don't be surprised if after viewing it, you start to worry about that
person coughing next to you on the bus or the constant sniffer in the office....
At Darren's World of Entertainment - a movie, DVD and game review blog. The latest movie and DVD reviews - plus game reviews as well. And cool stuff thrown in when I see it.
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