Retro Film Review: Contagion

On that otherwise ordinary day back in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic quickly took an unclenching grasp of our lives, the first place my brain went was 2011. Specifically, it went straight to the Steven Soderbergh disaster thriller, “Contagion.” My original viewing of the cautionary tale during its theatrical release gripped me, serving as more than just entertainment, it was a 101 class on the subject of pandemics. The grim picture it paints of a potential future made me more aware of the invisible danger that could bring mankind to its knees. Frankly, it scared me. I chose to watch it again, while in the middle of our current pandemic, to see how accurate the portrayal of our current situation would be. The good news, it seems to be an accurate representation of a pandemic. The bad news, the accuracy of it scared the shit out of me.

Plagues and epidemics are a thing of the past, we’ll never have to deal with something like that again. Right?? Soderbergh rips that band-aid off, answering that question early on. He wastes no time, diving right into Day 2, the start of the pandemic. We follow (Beth) Gwyneth Paltrow as she wraps up a business trip to Hong Kong. At this point, the viewers, Beth, nor anyone else, is aware that she is “patient zero” – the first known person infected by the novel virus (a virus that has not been seen before – sound familiar?). She carries on her ordinary daily activities having brief encounters that spread the contagion to unsuspecting people. Something as innocuous as a selfie, a handshake or a touched cellphone is the starting point of virus transfer that swiftly engulfs the world. The film plays like a mystery as scientists race around the world attempt to piece together the source from where the deadly virus was contracted on Day 1. We know Beth is infected, but how did she contract it? Tracing its origin could help prevent its spread and save millions of lives.

The pacing is rather fleet-footed taking viewers on multiple storylines are covered simultaneously providing different perspectives of the effects of the pandemic – the scientists searching for a cure, the families dealing with the ill, a conspiracy theorist looking for fame, and many more. Through some clever editing and cinematography, we also follow the invisible virus as it travels from a cough to a doorknob to a handshake to a victim. All combine to paint a dreadful picture of how a pandemic affects more than just the sick, it seeps into every vein of humanity. It is tense and often quite upsetting thriller that reinforces some of the biggest fears. At the very least the film will have you washing your hands like mad if you aren’t doing so already.

Those looking for a standard drama about one family’s dealing with the virus, this is not the film for you. Unlike some other films and books that cover similar ground, this is rather cold, not getting hung up in individual character’s stories. While it does put the star-studded cast to good use (including names like Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marian Cotillard) it still moves briskly, hopping around from one person to the next. In that sense it is rather heartless, like the virus itself – there is no time for sentimentality or mercy. The virus is the perfect villain. It does not discriminate, it doesn’t see age, sex or borders, it does not care if you are a pregnant mother or a thief, red state or blue state. When someone dies there is not a surge of dramatic music or character closeups in tears to ring out every ounce of emotion. Instead, we are often quickly shuffled to the next storyline – there is no time to waste. Even while so much ground is covered the intensity keeps us vested in every line of dialogue, this is gripping stuff.

While watching it would be impossible to not notice the similarities with the film pandemic and the current COVID-19 we are dealing with now. At times it is just plain eerie – terms like ‘social distancing’ and ‘novel virus’ are tossed around like this was stripped from the headlines and not the reverse. One example is Jude Law’s character, Alan Krumwiede, the conspiracy theorist. If you did not know any better you would think he was based on some of the (alleged) frauds out there today. Writer, Scott Z. Burns, comes across like a soothsayer combining science, studies of human nature to create an engaging and scary scenario that seems to be playing out, to some degree, today. The accuracy is even more terrifying when you watch the social breakdown, economic and moral breakdown on screen. Let’s hope for humanity’s sake that this is not a prophecy of things to come.

Although this is a very scientific film and limited on character, it is about is immersive as there is, especially in these conditions. The question is you have to ask yourself is, who should watch this? This is an important and valuable film, but be responsible with who you show it to. If you are a nervous, anxious person I would avoid watching. Also, this film is NOT a film for kids – that is unless you are a terrible parent and/or want to pay for a lifetime of therapy. You may want to show it to a virus doubter – the person who thinks it is all a hoax and that getting some fresh air at a Wal-Mart is more important than keeping this virus in check.

If you are the right audience, then please do humanity a favor. Stay inside and watch “Contagion” instead of spreading one. (And if you are not the right audience, check out our review section for other recommendations).