I’m Sorry, I don’t Shake Hands.

Contagion (2011)

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Writer: Scott Z. Burns (Pu-239)

Ensemble Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Sanaa Lathan, Matt Damon, John Hawkes, Steven Soderbergh, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, Bryan Cranston, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elliott Gould

 

A 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. The story follows the rapid progress of a lethal indirect contact transmission virus (Fomite transmission) that kills within days.

  The moment this film starts there is a sensation of cold clinical distancing. Like a wines after taste, there is a subtle Documentary-ish    

mood going on which peeks my subliminal voyeuristic tenancies.

I can’t look away, is that blood on the sidewalk?

 

                        

  I knew I was in for a delight when in the first 5 minutes, a major movie star dies. No one is safe.  Revealing the source truth of Mr. Soderbergh film. He captures the ordinary in such a subtle way that creates anxiety from normal behavior.

A glass of water, use of the handrail on a bus, opening a door, placing a bet at the casino table. The common places that make us we feel safe, the office, the gym, a hockey rink. All take on a skewed oblique threading presence. Normal is frightening.

The actors all give performances that are above their normal fair.Pulling us in to the uneasiness and apprehension they feel. Making me wonder what would I do, would I do that? What is the truth and who has it. 

Lawrence Fishburn as Head of the CDC

One character pronounces information with conviction and states “They said so”. When asked who “they” are the response is “the internet”. The uneasiness and queasiness are brought to the concerns and fears of the common place. The reason for this is a tight script from Mr. Burns. (Who also penned PU-239, if you haven’t seen it, it is well worth the trouble to search it out.) 

The next time I have ribs at Kathy and Bob’s. There is no doubt I will wonder where the night will take us. Catch this Film