What would happen if the world you know was over? Could you handle living on a planet afraid of getting a deadly virus? That's the premise behind the DVD release of Contagion, which delivered some disturbing results.
Contagion followed how a deadly and mysterious virus is contracted in China that seemed to spread like wildfire. International corporate traveller Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returned home after a trip to Hong Kong and ended up dying within two days of an unknown virus. Her shocked and grieving husband Mitch (Matt Damon) has no idea how to move on with his life. Soon he is quarantined by the CDC after his stepson died of the same disease. It turned out that he was one of the few who was immune to the virus and took measures to protect his daughter from dying as well. The CDC Deputy Director Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) called one of his best field employees Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) and one of his best scientists (Jennifer Ehle) to help stop the virus. The World Health Organization also called Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) to help pinpoint how the virus originated in Hong Kong in order to help find a way to cure it. Unfortunately, this virus has given fuel to a manipulative blogger named Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) and has made him an undeserving prophet to the scared masses. Can the world recover from this virus or will it fall apart through their own paranoia?
In terms of plot, Contagion's had a lot of potential, but it suffered from it due to the complex material and a large cast of stars that sometimes got lost in the shuffle. Director Steven Soderbergh helmed a crafty thriller that gave audiences a picture of what life could be like if the world was under attack by a deadly virus that they had no control over. Panic and bad behavior towards your fellow man became the norm. Riots, violence and avoiding all types of social interaction were just part of the mass hysteria. The story tended to get a little bogged down in the CDC jargon as the scientists worked together. If it was fascinating to get a glimpse of what they do, the only problem was that it was hard to understand what they were saying half of the time. Contagion also succeeded in being unpredictable because the audience didn't know who was going to survive or which character would be the next one to perish. If a big name star like Gwyneth Paltrow can get killed off early, anyone could go next.
In terms of breakout performances, Damon and Law were standouts as two very different men who were impacted by the virus in different ways. Damon lost most of his family and couldn't trust the world very much after that. He showcased Mitch as a fearful father who was immune to the physical disease, but not the emotional ramifications when he allowed himself to truly grieve his wife's death. Law, on the other hand, played a reporter who took full advantage of the world's paranoia and made a profit out of it. The character underhandedly allowed a former colleague to literally, and figuratively, die on his doorstep. Winslet and Paltrow gave member performances as strong women who became casualties of the virus. Paltrow's death scene in the beginning was the one that set the tone of the whole film. It was shocking and simply scary, especially during the autopsy scene that set everything else in motion. The movie's only true casualties were Fishburne and Cotillard who weren't used properly. Fishburne had very little to do and Cotillard was virtually absent for a good portion of the movie for no real reason. It's a shame, because Cotillard's character would've been an interesting one to see if the Soderbergh played his cards right. Even though it had some flaws, Contagion is still very terrifying movie to watch based on the real life possibilities.
Verdict: A thriller that mixed scares with a realistically creepy scenario.
Movie Score: 3 out of 5 stars
Movie Rating: PG-13
Score Chart
1 Star (Mediocre)
2 Stars (Averagely Entertaining)
3 Stars (Decent Enough to Pass Muster)
4 Stars (Near Perfect)
5 Stars (Gold Standard)
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