It's hard not to walk into Contagion and not be completley unexcited. Not only is the "virus killing everybody" thing so cliche (its basically the reasoning behind every zombie film these days) that it's practically a virus in and of itself, but who really wants to walk out of a movie theater worrying about touching anything, anywhere -- ever. The answer to that: you do. Contagion is so masterfully put together and created that it leaps over its tired premise and becomes something more. Of course the better the movie about an infectious the disease the more you're not going to want to leave your house after seeing it.
At its base Contagion is about a deadly and fast-acting virus that spread throughout the world while health organizations attempt to quarantine and cure it. This is a story that could easily get out of hand and turn into an event film (like the disappointing Outbreak), but instead director Steven Soderbergh turns it into a taught, clinical and insanely personal drama that smartly focuses on individuals instead of the big picture. The film follows a father (Matt Damon) and daughter in Chicago, the doctors searching for a cure, a blogger attempting to capitalize off the disease (Jude Law), and the people in the government agencies attempting to control the diseases spread. This isn't just in America, though the focus is mainly there, but across the world hopping mainly from here to China, but also landing in Japan. It's a global film that captures its globality by focusing on individuals and letting the rest unfold in the background.
This is what Soderbergh does so well (he did it in Traffic as well). We become entranced in the characters and they become our doorway into a bigger world. The overall plot unfolds in the background, witht he characters taking center stage and yet we get a better feeling for how an event like this unfolds than any event movie could ever show us. Part of the reason for that is also that the film is incredibly clinical in an almost text book fashion. We're taken step by step through the process that initiates when a virus outbreak occurs and at face value it would seem almost dull without turning it into an even. However, Soderbergh knows that the magic is in the small moments and keeps us grounded into each of his plethora of characters. Instead of blowing the event up into the macro he keeps it micro and thus keeps our attention, traps our emotions and makes us care about every detail.
The attention to detail doesn't stop at the characters either. Soderbergh's direction of the film is masterful. The opening sequence focusing simply on random surfaces being touched is so well done that within the first ten minutes of the film you're trying to squeeze yourself into your seat far enough to touch as little fabric as possible. Again, Soderbergh takes small interactions and lets them unfold into bigger ideas. This is especially noticable in the end of the film, whichs seems at first to wrap up nicely, but upon further reflection leaves many (good) questions and ideas about the plot and the disease out there. The best films spark conversation long after the viewing of the film, and Contagion does this wonderfully.
The film does let itself down in a few places. Some of the story lines are underdeveloped or drop of the face of the earth entirely. Marion Cotillard, who plays a World Health Organization representative attempting to find the source of the disease, completely dissapeares for most of the film despite having one of the more intersting story lines. Jude Law's character is also a bit all over the place as well, veering from a celebrity pundit to a lowly blogger in unrealistic ways that clash with the rest of the film's commitment to realism. The rest of the stories and characters are gripping and enticing, however, so the loss of these story lines can be felt, but doesn't ruin the film in any way.
What is truly impressive about Contagion is that it rises above what its about to become a film about people. The deadly disease takes a seat in the background of a story that becomes about humanity. A really scary, make you wash your hands hourly, story about humanity.
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