Contagion

[Zann]

Contagion

An action-thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Scott Z. Burns
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Colltiard, Kate Winslet, Daria Strokous, Tien You Chui, Josie Ho

Anyone see it this weekend?

I thought it was a good movie. But I did think it could have been better. With such a superb cast, I had super high expectations. But I left the movie theater walking away a tiny bit underwhelmed.

 

[sobriquet87]

I saw it last night. I was definitely underwhelmed.
Like you said, with so much talent involved I was expecting much more.

I like how "realistic" it was, but at the same time...it just felt like a waste of time and money.
The whole film was just kind of flat.

 

[littlepaperstars]

I saw it when I was in Venice. Bored stiff by it. Such a good cast totally wasted, I actually felt ike most of them wanted to be anywhere else but there, it seemed like they were all just phoning it in which for someone like Kate (I love her, she's with out agency) is just really telling.

 

[Zann]

To me, Jude Law's character was not needed. Lawrence and Kate (with the help of those doctors in the lab) could have made the movie if it just focused on their side of the story.

As much as I love Marion, her character was missing a good chunk of the movie. I totally forgot about her.

Gwyneth's character was needed, but Matt Damon's character was not.

The constant flipping back and forth between the characters slowed down the energy and pace of the film for me. I wanted to be on the edge of my seat but I was actually comfortable and playing with my phone.

ps. There was a picture of Daria Strokus and I wanted to know if it was real polaroid of her or just a picture for the film

 

[KoV]

A well-made but ultimately unsatisfying global epidemic drama. The cast, which seems to be the main selling point of the film, doesn't come through as strongly as I'd hoped. No one gives a bad performance, but how can I not be let down seeing people who've given some of my favorite performances ever given practically nothing to do. Kate Winslet and Jennifer Ehle are the exceptions. Though neither has an enormous amount of screentime, they turned in a pair of lovely performances, making their characters seem real and I was able to view them as more than the actresses portraying them. Aside from that, I don't have much to say. While sitting in the theater, I was always interested and sometimes moved, but once it ended it kind of lost it's impact (aside from me not touching anything on my way to the car). Shouldn't a film where 30 million people die, including some of the central characters, have an impact? Often, competence is good enough, but with a film with this plot and cast and director and budget, I expect something extra. Something special.