By Nick Block
Staff Writer
Don’t touch the glass. Don’t shake hands. Leave before you become infected.
“Contagion”, Steven Soderbergh’s dramatic and frightening thriller, realistically shows how an unknown and highly contagious virus for which there is no immediate vaccine or other treatment can become a worldwide epidemic that kills millions of people. Soderbergh’s pure brilliance and unique style makes this film stand out as one of the most exciting sci-fi dramas of the year.
When Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns from Hong Kong to her husband, Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon), she is ill and goes rapidly downhill. The audience also learns that through physical and airborne contact Beth and each person who contracts the virus unknowingly infects many more people, starting a chain reaction that kills millions of people throughout the world.
As the global epidemic spreads, the head of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Doctor Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne), tries to assure citizens that the CDC is looking for a vaccine. However, the CDC appeal is hindered by a news blogger, Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), who claims that there is a natural cure. He incites a riot by saying that the CDC’s search for a vaccine is selfishly profiting from the public’s misfortune.
The outstanding ensemble cast of accomplished actors, including Marion Cotillard and Kate Winslet, assures that no single actor overshadows the others. Soderbergh utilizes minor actors by showing how they come into contact with an infected person, which makes their roles significant.
Cliff Martinez, composer of the “Contagion” sound track, has created music unique to each scene, enhancing the audience’s feeling of spontaneity and excitement, much of which is generated through fearful and fast paced sci-fi beats. In various scenes Soderbergh incorporates the music to replace dialog, which further increases the dramatic effect.
“Contagion” hits the pharmaceutical companies hard demonstrating how they profit from a sick and dying population. Whether or not that is Soderbergh’s intended effect, he also succeeds in incorporating other messages like the deterioration of civilization, feelings of hopelessness, and entrapment when cities go into lockdown. These themes combine to mesmerize and create an emotional reaction in the audience.
Soderbergh’s use of creative camera angle styles, different lighting effects, and scenes that involve no dialog help set the film apart from other sci-fi thrillers about new viruses such as “The Happening” and “28 Days Later”.
The researchers’ scientific dialogue, which sometimes is hard to understand when they are explaining difficult concepts, and the conflicts among those with different views about how to stop the spread of the virus, all make the film seem even more realistic. This realism allows the audience to be more involved in the action of the film and to be convinced that the scenes in the film have a purpose.
“Contagion” is not some cliché movie about a virus that consumes the world. It is rare to find a movie that does not follow the typical pattern for its genre, but Soderbergh succeeds in making it a memorable film, packed with exhilarating conflicts and intriguing twists. “Contagion” is currently playing at theaters nationally, including locally at Arclight Beach Cities, and is rated PG13. For those who like action, drama, and sci-fi, this film has it all.
Leave a Reply