Movie Review: Contagion, Call the Irony Police Because I Caught a Cold In the Theater

Although none of the movies I’m reviewing today are exactly bad (Warrior, Straw Dogs, and Drive do have their occasional moments), Contagion is the only one I would recommend without hesitation. The others are in between a C and a B-, but Contagion is a solid B+ right down the middle and is one of the scariest non-horror movies of the year. For one thing, you can tell they really did their research into how a virus would spread and what the response (or non-response) would be. And for a second thing, the movie is very clever about turning your everyday surroundings into something to fear (a guy coughed on my neck after it was over and I almost punched him). In fact, I’m pretty sure I caught a cold in the actual theater for this movie, as it was packed full, the person beside me kept sniveling and sneezing, and today I feel less than great. So yeah, this movie accomplishes its mission of germ awareness…

What Works: An ace director in Soderbergh, one of the best casts of a movie this year where every role is well cast (the opposite of Straw Dogs) from leads like the always terrific Kate Winslett or Matt Damon as an every guy hero immune to the virus to the great Bryan Cranston as a straight laced general. There’s nothing “wow”-inducing about this movie but it just works in dozens of little ways: Cranston’s general isn’t a clueless jerk, the realism of the virus’s symptoms, the last scene that shows what started the virus is scarily realistic, etc.

What Doesn’t Work: Jude Law’s blogger character (his name is pronounced Crumb-weed that feels juvenilely insulting) being the villain. This movie’s villain is the virus, and didn’t need a human face to dislike. And if it was going to cast a human face to dislike…why is there no drug company executive anywhere in this film? Also, (and not to get too spoiler-y) but the body count is a little low among the movie’s main cast. A cast this huge could have weathered more casualties and actually increased its realism. Eventually, the movie’s unofficial hero becomes Jennifer Ehle’s CDC worker and I can’t say I’m exactly in love with this actress who often uses a gratingly artificial way of speaking and acting (she’s the weak link in the CBS show A Gifted Man as well).

What I Would Have Done Differently: It feels a little like omission that a movie this realistic has NO drug company or pharmaceutical executive in its enormous character list. And there’s a subplot about Marion Cotillard’s character (not exactly my first choice to play a sharp, buttoned down World Health Organization official either) that just doesn’t work and her whole storyline feels underdeveloped. Still, any changes I would make would be minor.