'Contagion'

'Contagion' (PG-13) (2 STARS)

Writer: Scott Z. Burns
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Demetri Martin, John Hawkes

"Contagion" is a respectful homage to 70's type disaster and conspiracy thrillers. It is respectful but also too laid back with characters that are not memorable save for a couple of them. I never felt that the movie was building any momentum or suspense. The movie starts off well setting up it's story. Then it throws all these characters at us and the all star cast distracts us. The movie just lumbers along with no dramatic moments for a movie with such an explosive subject.

The movie starts out with a business woman from Minneapolis, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, who comes back from a business trip from Hong Kong with flu like symptoms. She comes home to her husband, played by Matt Damon, and then passes away. Then we see a Tokyo man riding a bus suddenly having a seizure. Then others start to mysteriously die and an obnoxious blogger starts to throw out conspiracy theories on how the deaths started. Then a few representatives from Disease Control and Prevention (Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishbourne) and The World Health Organization (Marion Cottilard) start to trace back where the virus came from.

I know that "Contagion" is trying to be an adult thriller that takes it's time telling it's story. It is a welcome throwback to films of the 70's that are slowly paced, want to set a mood of doom and have a lot of thoughtful dialogue. The dialogue in this movie sounds realistic and at the start the movie is a little scary and thought provoking. I appreciate what Soderbergh is trying to do here but he fails in getting us involved. The doctors and representatives have no personality and I was bored with them all. The Paltrow character is given no build up so Damon has to make us care about her and his relationship with her but the movie doesn't help him.

This is missing what some of those 70's disaster films had and that is suspense and personality. It is much better than recent films of it's ilk including the very bad and unintentionally funny 1995 film "Outbreak" but I wish it was more like a classic film like 1979's "The China Syndrome". I don't expect "Contagion" to be as great as "China Syndrome", one of the best movies ever made period, but I wanted more oomph.

I like the serious and thoughtful tone of this movie and I am glad there were no cheesy, over-the-top killing and gruesome deaths. I like that the movie explores it's subject in a serious way. I like the Matt Damon character and his daughter and there is a very touching scene where the father sets up a mock Prom for his daughter in their house. Those were the only charcaters I cared for and the other character that should have moved us, played by Marion Cotillard, isn't given a big enough piece of the plot.

I just found the movie dull and too respectful and too careful. I felt that the all star cast distracted me because their characters are so lifeless. There is an explosive and powerful scene where a shortage of medicine causes a scary riot. That is a great scene but the only one that startled me. "Contagion" needed more scenes like that one and people I cared about. The only positive thing from this movie is that it will make you think, just not about this particular movie's story.

P.S. For an example of a scary, suspenseful, terrifying and sobering look at a topical threat or disaster that is much stronger check out the 70's classic "The China Syndrome" which in it's time scared the crap out of everyone who saw it. In my top five of the best movies of the 70's.