San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

“Contagion” brings the fear

Against a black screen, director Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic disaster film “Contagion” begins with a single cough. A phone call from Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) reveals that she had a layover in Chicago after attending a business meeting in Hong Kong and that she is about to fly home to Minneapolis. After Beth coughs again, the man on the phone advises her to get some rest. Two days later, Beth is dead.

Following her death is a rapid-fire montage of major cities around the world that shows the various people whom Beth infected, demonstrating the speed the a virus spreads while launching several interweaving plotlines that form the structure of the film. In addition to utilizing the nonlinear, hyperlink cinema structure of his masterpiece film “Traffic,” Soderbergh also includes the saturated color schemes to represent different locations and plotlines as he jumps from city to city. However, “Traffic” depicted the drug trade across borders; In “Contagion” the primary commodity is fear.

As society crumbles and the death toll rises, Beth’s husband Mitch (Matt Damon) keeps his teenage daughter (Anna Jacoby-Heron) confined via house arrest, fearing she will be infected. Mitch’s own natural immunity to the virus serves as a plot device to explore the disintegration of his town. Meanwhile, Homeland Security official Lyle Haggerty (Bryan Cranston) fears that the outbreak is an act of bioterrorism as the National Guard begins to close down borders and enforce martial law. With the world transforming into a police state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scrambles to create a vaccine before the virus mutates. Hindering the scientists’ work is conspiracy theory blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) who capitalizes on panic in order to sell homeopathic remedies of which he is a major shareholder.

These plots, along with several others starring Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne and Marion Cotillard form a realistic portrait of major urban areas torn apart by disease and panic, especially when compared to other infectious disaster movies such as “28 Days Later” and “Children of Men.” However, by enlarging the scope of the film to encompass three continents and multiple storylines, character development often suffers, leaving the audience with no identifiable emotional center. Furthermore, some storylines are more engaging than others causing the momentum of the film to falter during the latter parts of the film.

Despite the lack of cohesion in the climax that separates “Contagion” from the very best of the multi-plot films to date, the first hour of the film ranks among the best in Soderbergh’s career.

Movie: Contagion

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Release Date: Sept. 9

Grade: B

For more information visit contagionmovie.warnerbros.com

 

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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
“Contagion” brings the fear