Contagion Movie Review

Contagion (2011)

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Written by: Scott Z. Burns
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, John Hawkes, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Ehle, Elliot Gould, Enrico Colantoni, Bryan Cranston
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
Healthcare professionals, government officials, and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.

Verdict
Great pacing as we see a pandemic unfold from various viewpoints. The world has proven just how accurate this movie is, and even without the Corona virus this movie seemed accurate at the time. From start to finish, this movie doesn't miss a beat as it looks at this from victims, doctors, and even those looking to profit. This was a good movie when it released, but it's even better today.
Watch it.

Review
I've been rewatching pandemic type movies. I watched Outbreak a few weeks ago, and Contagion is what Outbreak wanted to be. It captures how humans would react, looking out for themselves and family first yet still wanting to help.

I love the tracking shot of what people have touched. How people interact and transfer a possible virus makes a great point right from the start, and does a great job of making everyone who watches a germophobe. This movie is prescient, and it has a lot of style to it. Soderbergh films usually do.

It's surprising how accurate this movie is. The complaints people have about shutting down schools and businesses could be current. Talks of R0 (pronounced R naught) were over my head when I first watched this, but made complete sense this time around.

Pacing is great, moving between multiple characters. It's a lot of perspective, but they're important at building the story. A pandemic affects a lot of different people and we see a man whose family gets stick, officials trying to guide a nation, and researchers. Through their viewpoints society collapses and people get desperate. I credit the movie with killing off one of the main characters. That's a bold move which is completely logical within the context. Everyone can't survive.

Jude Law plays a blogger, and that character is a harbinger of things that came. People call him out on a lie and he just denies. Anything that is counter to his statements, note not beliefs but just his claims, he deems them conspiracies. That's how he manages to capitalize upon misfortune.

As good as this movie is, the ending makes it all the better by showing us how the virus started. The frightening thing is that potential to generate a virus really exists.