Review: Contagion

Contagion is a scary movie because it depicts a situation that could happen. I'm no scientist, but I was left thinking that while the virus depicted here isn't real, one like it could be, and there's little comfort in that. It's also scary because as a pandemic takes hold through the film, we see many people die, and many more become frightened and violent. Social services are weakened and in some cases collapse, there are looters, and the social contract generally goes out the window for a while. The scariest part is how close it all is to reality; Contagion is one of those films that transcends science fiction and becomes science possibility.

The film has been described as 'Traffic, but with a virus' which is apt mostly because Steven Soderbergh directed this, too, and lends it his detached view, and his complex interweaving of multiple story threads. The narrative jumps about from person to person and gives us information at a steady, manageable pace, despite its relative complexity - relative to a film like Outbreak, which I also enjoyed, but which took contrived pains to explain viruses to the audience in layman's terms. In Contagion, no one slows down to say things twice, or to say them with great clarity, other than to deal with those characters who aren't scientists - thank god for them because the WHO and CDC only ever speak in shorter words to deal with Homeland Security, and the odd press conference. These scenes play genuinely - when news of a virus is on the real CNN - we may not understand everything (or anything) the talking head says about the science, but there is inevitably that part of their commentary explaining how likely we are to catch the disease, how likely it is to kill us, what the numbers are in the big picture. The gravity of the whole thing shines through like a terrible beacon.

Contagion is close to being documentary in its style - it depicts situations which are difficult, emotional, impossible - but it does not overdo it, it does not tap us on the shoulder with music cues or loose editing to emphasize the tragedy or the panic. The narrative is well-balanced between the grand view of things as they unfold worldwide and the intimate way it affects the characters and the people they love. A surprising number of A-listers are in this film, but it speaks very highly of its execution that despite excellent, underplayed performances from just about everyone, this film would not have been worse off for casting nobodies and newcomers. The big names are just here to sell the package.

Matt Damon is the most human thread running through the film - he loses his wife and step-son early on and struggles to make sure he doesn't also lose his daughter. Much of the plot unfolding around him speaks to our immediate concerns about family when a calamity like this unfolds - parents trying to protect their children while society is falling apart around them. Most of the major characters, even the ones like Lawrence Fishburne who serve to lead us through the institutional procedure of dealing with the virus, have a strong human element that more than anything allows us to trust them and like them. We need to have something to latch on to because the plot is constantly presenting a bleak landscape - the virus spreads fast, kills fast, contracts through touch and air, and is a mystery to medical science when it shows up.

A great deal of research and consultation fuels the way the plot unfolds - Soderbergh and writer Scott Burns do not create drama by contorting the science or the realities of how governments work - they instead keep things grounded by finding the stories that would certainly take place at a time like this. Again, it compares favourably to something like Outbreak - there is no showdown here where one person risks his life by flying a plane or making a big speech - the heroism in Contagion is mostly quiet, patient. Characters take risks, but they are played matter-of-factly, not sensationally.

The detached style of the film won't appeal to everyone, so be warned that there are no car chases or convenient twists. This is an unnerving, steady take on how we all might experience such a disaster - maybe one day, but we hope never.