Contagion

Release Date: Sep 09, 2011 

Runtime: 1 hr. 46 min.

Director: Steven Soderbergh 

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet.

Fear can come in all shapes and forms, but sometimes, it's what you can't see that's the most dangerous of them all. And so it implies in the viral-disaster thriller from director Steven Soderbergh. When a mysterious virus breaks loose on the population, the CDC is caught in the crossfires, and social mayhem ensues across the globe. Supported by a cast of high-profile actors, Soderbergh brings relevance to today's society with a devastating epidemic that feels terrifyingly surreal, yet seemingly familiar. Through a gritty lens, we witness the paranoia that engulfs the masses, dismantling all sense of security and sanity we have come to withhold. But in spite of the crisis that pans out on screen, there's a lack of mounting tension that keeps the film suspenseful for great periods of time. This is primarily due to the fact that you never quite feel invested in any of the victims of the outbreak. As various stories merge and disperse, the time spent on introducing characters is abbreviated, thus allowing recall to come solely based on faces alone. An exception to the rule is Paltrow, whose presence on screen is ostensibly brief but crucial to the plot. Her pallid face and body convulsions are but a few of the things that resonate from the entirety of the film. However, this goes without saying, the acting is still all-around superb; with names like Damon, Winslet and Cotillard, it's bound to be the case. By the end of the film, you can't help but feel unease as the pieces fall into place, which is probably what Soderbergh was gunning for. Next time you're out and about, you may just think twice about who, or what, you touch.

Rating: 3 stars