CONTAGION
Steven Soderbergh presents this look at what happens when an infectious disease threatens humanity through varied viewpoints from an ensemble cast, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Winslet. The Informant's Scott Z. Burns provides the script. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
and Kate Winslet
Release Date: Sep 09, 2011
Rated: Disturbing content and some language
Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller
Review:
The easiest test of how effective Contagion is how quickly you start to consciously think about touching your face, grabbing a door handle or holding hands with a loved one. Contagion is the type of film that maintains such a close proximity with reality that it feels like an extravagant “what if” documentary. Steven Soderbergh is the perfect director for this germaphobic waking nightmare. Soderbergh reins this film in, keeping the flights of fancy that countless other similar films take so easily, while maintaining his usual detached sensibility and faux naturalism. It’s a different kind of horror film that makes the mundane and common look horrific and vaguely terrifying. The assembled stars are all game even if more than a few get shafted in screen time or fulfilled story lines. Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne and Jude Law leave the biggest impressions each for very different reasons. The plot itself does waver a bit in the last act and it kind of stumbles towards the finish line, feeling more exhausted than accomplished. Still it’s leaves enough of an impression that it’ll make you think about touching the door on your way out of the theater.
B+
Bluray quality; Video is fantastic across the board ; Sound is equally impressive.
I was hand-selected to be a member of Blu-ray Elite, a beta program from Warner Home Video which has graciously sent me this free Blu-ray disc.
