REVIEW: Contagion

Steven Soderbergh’s new feature Contagion follows the rapid spread of an unknown, deadly virus across international borders. It sets up time and place through text “Chicago Illinois. Population 2.8 million. Day 13”. There’s no time to set up locations and remind the audience how far the story has progressed, there are too many characters to introduce! In a grisly autopsy scene (you will wince), the doctor speaks to his assistant who asks “Should I call someone?” and responds “Call everyone!”, well Soderbergh sure did. This film has Hollywood stars coming from every which way- Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and (excitingly for me) Bryan Cranston. The cast play the characters you expect them to play- Matt Damon plays Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow does Gwyn… and so on. But they do it well. The highlight was Jennifer Ehle (she of Elizabeth Bennett fame) who delivered a pitch perfect performance as Dr Ally Hextall. Most annoying character (perhaps done purposely) is Jude Law’s portrayal of Julian Assange, I mean Alan Krumwiede. He’s fighting for the truth against the evil government who are ‘surely in cahoots with the pharmaceutical companies’. His character also become fodder for some pretty naff “gen-Y” references like facebook pages, twitter, webcam, blogging and so on.

The film follows the spread of the virus and the increasing panic with familiar scenes- we have seen them on the news or in previous blockbusters: deserted streets, live news broadcasts, looting, fights for supplies and lots of government meetings. Oh there’s no doubt they have an epidemic on their hands. They frequently drop mentions of SARS and H1N1 to remind you that “This could totally happen y’all”. There’s lots of medical jargon and facts peppering the dialogue, including how often humans touch their face each day (2000-3000 times, or 3- 4 times a minute). Look out for one scene which, although was meant to be quite serious just made people giggle and seemed like a ‘Tim & Eric’-esque parody- it’s the part where “Dr Sussman is rechecking his data” (even that sounds funny).

Although Contagion wasn’t that long, it began to feel a bit like it. Soderbergh may have tried to follow too many threads with some of them playing out unconvincingly, while other stories left you wanting more. The film did keep me pretty interested and involved though, and it ends with a cool ‘a-ha!’ moment where everything falls into place. If nothing else, it will make you think twice every time you touch your face.

Contagion opens nationally this Thursday.

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