Contagion (Spoilers!)

I went to my local theater yesterday and ate copious amounts of popcorn while watching Contagion.  Gesundheit!

Thanks to IMDB I have been watching the trailer for this movie for months now.  I can see why all the people in the CDC were so anxious to see how Soderbergh visualized the pandemic described in the trailer.  The movie is a very clinical approach to dealing with the outbreak of a deadly swine flu disease that kills its host within days.

With such a talented cast and director, I was expecting more of an emotional connection with the characters.  There were moments, don't get me wrong, and some of them were quite powerful; though for the most part, this is a plot driven story that really only grabbed me in the very middle of the film, when the epidemic had reached its peek and chaos ensued.  People become like animals and we see mankind at its worst.  To that regard it delivered, be it ever so briefly. 

After that, there is a cure and a sappy sweet ending.

That was my biggest problem with the movie: there were no repercussions, except for the least developed part of the story in Asia when a village takes a WHO employee hostage for the cure and receives a placebo instead.

Jude Law's character was an intriguing one, especially those teeth -- they too should get a credit in the movie.  I would have liked to see the film focus more on Matt Damon's struggle in dealing with his wife's infidelity; it's acknowledged in the end almost as an afterthought.  Granted, he is focused on his and his daughter's survival.  When he steals the shotgun, I thought he would have to use it, but I don't remember him ever having to fire it.

My writer instincts are always looking to find things that I might have done differently.  In this film, with the particular characters given, I would have written a version where friends and neighbors turn on Damon and his daughter, after finding out from Law's blog it was Damon’s wife who brought this hell to America.  That would have allowed the film to toil in the animal nature of desperation for a longer spell and forced him to use that gun.         

This is a good movie, not a great one.  It was much better than Outbreak, yet also too similar in some regards.

While the popcorn was buttery and delicious, the break from writing was worth the price of admission alone.

-aap