Review of Contagion (2011) by Jillian L — 19 Jun 2013

Scarily conceivable. I've seen Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman which was pretty good and thereby didn't feel the need to watch another killer virus movie. That is, until I found out Contagion was directed by Steven Soderbergh.

He outdoes that one which reverted unnecessarily into an action film for the second half, as well as easily besting his own Traffic which used a similar interwoven storytelling approach by adding the needed focus, bringing his disparate subjects into a clearer big picture.

A galaxy of stars in big parts and bit parts adds some welcome fun to the nervewrackery. We learn how truly delicately balanced the world's population is regarding disease and how quickly one can spread, and the momentous tasks facing the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control to respond quickly.

Soderbergh uses some great directorial mechanics, for example subtly leaving his camera lingering on surfaces where sickly hands have touched, you can almost feel the microbes on your own skin. I also dug that the movie starts with Day 2 of the virus and only reveals the cause at the very end, underlining the point of how what came before started very innocuously.

I came away convinced that this fictional chain reaction of events constitutes a very likely template should a real epidemic strike. Hand wipe sales skyrocket among people who see this movie I reckon.