Movie Week – Contagion

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As movie week progressed I felt that I needed to incorporate some sort of order to the proceedings.  So, whenever possible I tried to come up with themes for the movies that I watched. 

Since there were two Steven Soderbergh films that I’d planned on watching, I figured that I’d have a Soderbergh double feature.  The first film in the double feature was Contagion. 

I remember wanting to see this film when it was originally released.  I pretty much dig Soderbergh’s work.  At least his commercial work.  He’s got a gift of managing to get quality talent working on interesting scripts.  Here’s how much of a Soderbergh fan I am; I sat through Full Frontal.  Ooh, I’ve got one better; I watched K Street. 

Anyway, Contagion was billed sort of as Traffic, only instead of drugs, the focus is a pandemic.  That sounds cheery, right? 

The writers managed to hit a ton of aspects of a pandemic (common man, government worker, scientist, media, international) while still giving everyone their due.  The film didn’t feel rushed or crammed, it felt just right, which is pretty remarkable considering the ground that was covered. 

Not only does Soderbergh manage to pull together an impressive cast, but he also gets strong performances out of them.  Saying that I was riveted to the screen the entire time doesn’t really convey how invested in the characters I was.  Every single actor deserves accolades for their work in this film. 

Of course Contagion is one of those films that causes you to examine your life after watching it.  I’m not the biggest fan of shaking hands, and this film definitely reinforced my attitude.  But as a guy who uses mass transit it also caused me to second guess that decision. 

Honestly, I had no problem with the film.  I’d easily watch it again, and would actually love to watch it with someone who hasn’t seen it.  I really enjoyed how we finally got the answer to what caused the pandemic.  Watching it unfold was just as gripping as everything that preceded it. 

So yeah, if you haven’t seen Contagion and it happens to come on, try it out.  I’m betting you’ll get hooked immediately.