Contagion

Contagion was directed by Steven Soderberg and written by Scott  Burns.  The film has an A-list cast that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Coutillard, Laurence Fishburne, and Bryan Cranston.  The plot of the film involves a virus or plague that spreads throughout the entire population and how normal people and governed health agencies react to the problem when portions of the population start dying.  The center for disease control is trying to find a cure for the virus and people in general are looting and stealing.  In short, the world descends into complete and utter chaos.  There is also a blogger tracking the effects of the virus on the world population.

The problem with Contagion is that there are too many storylines to juggle in this two hour film.  Characters in the film really don’t have any story arc.  Essentially the film is boring because the characters only purpose is to panic in the face of this viral attack.  Nothing about the film feels remotely honest or believable except for the relationship between Mitch Emhoff and his Jory played by Matt Damon and Anna Jacoby-Heron respectively.  Contagion had way too many characters interacting with one another trying to either solve this crisis or survive it.  I never had a moment in the film where I believed the level of panic people were supposedly in.  Other than the two actors I highlighted earlier, no one else in the film showed any emotional range or growth.  It’s as if the actors made their characters as bland as possible with no other motivation than to see the story to its natural conclusion.  The film is a weak drama that happens to be shot well.