Contagion Review

Posted by Nolan Woodford on 09.10.2011

Maybe not the best movie to share a bucket of popcorn over...



Thomas Emhoff: Matt Damon
Beth Emhoff: Gwyneth Paltrow
Jory Emhoff: Anna Jacoby-Heron
Dr. Ellis Cheever: Laurence Fishburne
Dr. Erin Mears: Kate Winslet
Alan Krumwiede: Jude Law
Dr. Leonora Orantes: Marion Cotillard
Sun Feng: Chin Han
Dennis French: Enrico Colantoni
Lyle Haggerty: Bryan Cranston
Dr. Ally Hextall: Jennifer Ehle
Dr. David Eisenberg: Demetri Martin
Dr. Ian Sussman: Elliot Gould

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a film written by Scott Z. Burns and directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Rated PG-13 for disturbing content and some language.
Running Time: 1 hour, 46 minutes
Release Date: September 9, 2011

We likely all know someone who doesn't cover their mouth when they cough. I can recommend Contagion to those people, because this is a film that knows that germs can be spooky and - from the onset, at least - reminds its audience of that fact. Its most gripping shots are the simple ones that Steven Soderbergh sprinkles in early in the movie. The sound of a cough, a hand wiping a pole on a bus, a busboy cleaning up dirty glasses. We're told the average person touches their face thousands of times a day. That alone makes my face a little itchy.

Contagion shows just how quickly a woman's (Paltrow) business trip to Hong Kong can send a debilitating virus around the world in just a matter of days. The MEV-1 virus gives her just enough time to cough in a few lucky cities before killing her and leaving her husband (Damon) in a state of disarray. He is somehow immune, but is not sure his daughter (Jacoby-Heron) is so he keeps her under house arrest. Is that a good idea when it's the same house where her mother spent her final days with MEV-1?

I digress, such questions can be lost in the mix when there are this many people and subplots to tackle. There are a multitude of doctors, spearheaded by Dr. Cheever (Fishburne), working to create an antidote that could never be created fast enough. One of the main doctors ends up in a bodybag and is eventually replaced and forgotten, like security guards changing shifts. Alan Krumwiede (Law) tries to find his own cure and deliver it online to the twelve million followers of his blog. He's certain the government will only release a vaccine when they can profit off it. He has serious talks of it in a couple of scenes with a gentleman. They're very serious, because - pandemic or no - the most serious private political discussions take place in a public park.

The blogger subplot seems trivial. Even more so is a kidnapping story arc that feels irrelevant and incomplete. Perhaps it's meant to show what lengths people will go to during such a pandemic. There are glimpses of the chaos that would surely spread faster than the MEV-1 disease, but Contagion stays focused on its merry-go-round of characters.

There are thrilling elements of Contagion, but they only come when we're allowed to insert ourselves into the film. I'd be lying if I said there weren't a couple of moments where I felt the need to run home and take a shower. The idea of Contagion is far more frightening than the actual film itself ends up being. Its biggest flaw is a slapdash script that refuses to focus too much time and attention on any one character before moving onto another. Had the focus remained on a select few characters instead of zipping all over the place, Contagion could've been a much more harrowing thriller. The dread and tension built as the film opens dissipates with the addition of each new character.

The 411: When Contagion works, it's because of a realistic subject matter that hits close to home. The film itself, however, is aimless and unable to find any connection or flow for the majority of its cluttered cast. A couple of performances stick out, but most are lost in the shuffle and totally forgotten by film's end. Ultimately, Contagion only works as a public service announcement to cover your mouth when you cough and maybe not to eat pork from Hong Kong.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]