'Contagion' Movie Review

This is a movie review of Contagion by that guy, Bruce



Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, & Kate Winslet amongst a larger ensemble.  It has a runtime of 106 minutes and is rated PG-13.

-

The movie starts on the 2nd day, following Paltrow’s character whose headed home from Hong Kong.  We're then shown several other scenes that set up the story as we'll come to know it.

Day 3, we're introduced to a CDC man (Fishburne) and a maniacal smoking gun kind of blogger in San Francisco (Law).

On the fourth day Paltrow dies in her kitchen and later that same day, her son passes away also.

By the fifth day, the world has 47 cases and 8 deaths and it’s looking like the CDC and WHO (World Health Organization) are starting to understand that something is amiss.

-

Contagion comes at us with a situation that grabs the mind and roots us in fear or horror of what's happening.  It's less an action film and more of a very methodical plot that looks at just how easy it is for a worldwide disease to ravage the planet.  And it seems all too real.

It seems all that much more real because they show us the simple mechanisms involved in spreading a disease from peer to peer.  Whether it be by touch, breathing or what have you, the creep factor kicks in seeing how easy Contagion makes it look.

You start to get very OCD about the people around you.

-


We are then privy to the political battles over who will or will not do specific things while fighting the disease and we're also following Paltrow's hubby, Matt Damon, who is seemingly immune.

Don't forget that blogger... (Jude Law) who "knows" the government is behind this.  (At one point Elliott Gould says that blogs are like graffiti with punctuation marks.  LOL.  I think.)

-

Contagion delivers a great story about humanity reacting to the idea of facing our end by a seemingly invisible stalker.  And sadly, it doesn't feel that far off the mark.

I don't mean to spoil things, but if you're going to bank your money on Contagion because Paltrow is in it, she has an all too quick of a part where she shows up and dies.

Oh, and if you're wondering what the bloody heck happened to day 1, don't worry.  We get to see day 1 in all its glory.

I had no problem having spent my bucks to watch this movie and it turned into an entertaining few hours.

I’d recommend it, in any venue you can catch it in.
Contagion products on Amazon
-

Comments