Contagion
Movie Review: “Contagion”
By Marcus Flewellen
Starring: Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Ehle, Kate Winslet, John Hawkes, Bryan Cranston, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sanaa Lathan
Written by Scott Z. Burns
Directed by Stephen Soderbergh
“Contagion” has a lot going for it: a phenomenal cast, a first-rate director, great production values. Why, oh why, is it so….mediocre? Unfortunately, the problem lies in screenwriter Scott Z. Burns’ (The Informant) screenplay, which devolves into cliche and predictability way too often.
For the first thirty minutes or so, the film is actually pretty darn good. Academy-Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow plays Beth Emhoff, an American businesswoman who is one of the first people to die (no spoiler there – it’s given away in the trailer) from a deadly virus that she contracts while she’s on a business trip in Hong Kong. Her husband David (Matt Damon) is heartbroken by his wife’s shocking death, but he’s relieved to find out that he is one of the rare people on Earth who is somehow immune to the disease. He’s not so sure, however, that his daughter (Anna Jacoby-Heron) is immune, so he keeps her from leaving the house and coming into contact with other people.
As the disease spreads and the death count rises, scientists all around the world are looking for a cure. Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, Marion Cotillard and Demetri Martin play prominent scientists who are searching desperately for the cure and are looking to find out what caused the epidemic in the first place. As the virus spreads, so does fear. Jude Law delivers an Oscar-worthy performance here as Alan Krumwiede, a very popular blogger who uses fear and panic to get rich by promoting a medicine called forsythia, which he says cured his sickness. Sanaa Lathan and John Hawkes shine in small supporting roles as Fishburne’s wife and fellow employee, respectively.
As you can see, a lot of things happen in “Contagion”; unfortunately, there isn’t much here that the average moviegoer hasn’t seen or won’t see coming a mile away. And that’s a shame, given the talent that’s in front of and behind the camera. Law, Winslet and Fishburne deliver the film’s best performances. In fact, there’s a great scene halfway through the film where Law’s and Fishburne’s characters verbally spar on national television.
That scene is good enough to make you wish that the rest of the film that was that great.
2 out of 4 stars.
