Featuring a truly impressive cast of A-list talent, a highly regarded Oscar winning director and a story centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease, Steven Soderbergh's Contagion bore all the elements required for a truly remarkable film. And for the first time in 2011 the hype, suspense and anticipation were a worthy companion to the final product.
Constantly straddling the line between politics and human emotion the cast and crew create a unique style of film that is part documentary, part thriller. The simplistic nature of the story is flawlessly portrayed as the onslaught of story lines intertwine without any hesitation. For a split second you begin to feel as if you are caught in the midst of a world epidemic.
The story is actually quite simple. An American businesswoman, Beth, returns from Hong Kong with what she presumes to be jet lag. Two days later, Beth is dead and the entire medical world is stumped as to why. Immediately cases all over the world begin to show themselves as people continue to fall victim to the unknown virus. With millions of lives at stake doctors and medical professionals look for a cure to end the global pandemic.
What I found most intriguing about the whole film was the way it worked to transfer a message. Showing numerous sides to the same story (and using Jude Law's blogger character to poke fun at present day journalism) the film works all angels, giving viewers a complete picture of just how quickly a virus can take over the human population and how easily we can succumb to fear.
By the film's end I was left with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not only had I just witnessed a unique expose on the human mind, but I was fascinated with just how vulnerable we all are to something so simply created as a virus. The film is consciously disturbing but presented in such an artistic way that you can't help but applaud its success.
