Climbing Higher Pictures

Have audiences truly seen it all before? That may be the first thing a studio head might ask themselves as they anxiously await the sales of the new virus outbreak film Contagion. Will anybody even show up? Despite the cast and the pedigree behind the camera, it seems a long shot to make much of a dent in an already crowded subgenre, without the marketable appeal of zombies or horror thrills. Can Soderbergh generate box office gold once again?

Contagion Review

By Ryan Hamelin

Movie Grade: C

Well, that happened. It’s hard to pinpoint the emotional response one feels as the credits roll on Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, because frankly, there isn’t much of one. A vague sense of depression, an exhaustion borne of an endless sense of discomfort or a pain in the facial muscles due to a perpetual cringe perhaps, but empathy for the protagonists or a familiar tug on the heart strings… not so much. In fact, this may be the most sterile virus outbreak movie produced by a Hollywood studio, keeping the viewer at arms length as though determined to only engage their intellect. It has all the hallmarks of a Soderbergh film, with flashy camera moves, montages set to a pumping electronic score, and characters having important conversations in seemingly empty buildings.

The first thing you should know is that this is a major ensemble piece. You wouldn’t be able to get a cast like this together if there was one solid lead and a couple of bit parts. However, what I find interesting when I look back at the marketing of the film is that Matt Damon, even within the ensemble, isn’t even close to being the most prominent character. Lawrence Fishburne, in fact, is arguably the main character of the piece, and he has a total of one line of dialogue in the entire trailer. Why is this? I haven’t the faintest idea. His performance, and his relationship with his protégé Kate Winslet is probably the most impactful part of the whole movie, and it’s frustrating to know that most of the people who steer clear of the film based on its campaign will miss out on these, and several other genuinely great performances.

The problem is that the editing and the pacing of the film prevents us from ever getting deeper than surface level with most of the storylines, and there’s not nearly enough crossover to let the momentum of the film dictate the pace. To make matters worse, there’s a slightly different color palette and feel to each story, furthering the idea that the stories have little to do with each other, and may have existed better as a collection of short films a la New York, I Love You for the thriller audience. With his retirement already proclaimed quite loudly after he completes the handful of projects currently in development, Soderbergh seems to be making movies mostly for himself these days, and as with auteurs of old, is leaving his audience in the dust.

If you’re a big genre fan, don’t mistake this for a horror film. If anything, it plays like a world scale police procedural, with the killer being hunted even as it consumes thousands if not millions of victims. In that way I suppose it’s a fresh take on the viral outbreak subgenre, even if the brutally realistic angle keeps it from developing what should be its core storytelling strengths. A title card stating its current population introduces each city, and if you had a pad and pen, you may even be able to keep up with the projected death toll as the virus rolls out across the globe. The science takes a pretty prominent position, and the reaction by the government and local law enforcement fades into the background. We see only the well-intentioned people trying to make a difference, and the bureaucracy and idiocy undoubtedly occurring is hidden behind closed doors. Perhaps this is to engender some sort of hope in the human race’s ability to handle this particular type of catastrophe, I’m not sure, but I certainly wasn’t as distraught as I assumed I’d be by the end. I guess we can only hope that this proves an accurate depiction of how the world will fall apart, because maybe some of us will make it through.

At the end of the day, (reverting to classic conclusion paragraph format out of laziness) is this film worth your hard earned money to see in a multiplex? Yes and no. If you see it on TV, you probably won’t have the stamina or commitment to make it all the way through, and it’s the end of the film that asks the most interesting questions. Theater viewing will put a pinch on your wallet, and you’ll probably leave the cinema feeling unsatisfied. The perfect solution for anyone still interested in seeing it? Matinee! Or one of those bargain Tuesday nights that some lucky places still have. This may not be the most engaging viral thriller to come around lately, but the real world approach at least separates it from the pack of zombie survival horror films and brings something original(ish) to the table. Let me know what you think of this end of the world if you end up seeing it. I feel like it could be a divisive one.