Touch Me, Take Me To That Other Place

CONTAGION (2011)

There have been many films about epidemics in the past decade. More so, because of the SARS and H1N1 viruses that created widespread panic and hysteria, not to mention the amount of lives it claimed. In the 21st century, the pandemic truly takes shape; these epidemics don't attack one region now but the world, and spread swifter than ever, definitely faster than the Spanish flu did in 1918. Two remarkable films, REC (2007) and 28 Days Later (2002), both zombie/ creature movies have managed to remind us of the horrors of these cataclysmic events. The Host (2006) is probably the best one, this monster film satirizes the SARS epidemic in relation with the west and shows the true horrific nature of panic and loss. All of these films are allegorical. Blindness (2008) is a bit more direct in its commentary, critically panned, but in my humble opinion, uniquely effective. Now comes Contagion, with the MEV-1 virus, probably the most stark depiction of an outbreak of a deadly virus. This is surely an American film, but it isn't a Hollywood product, like Outbreak (1995). Steven Soderbergh recruits some of the best actors (stars?) not just from Hollywood but from Britain and France and even kills some of them off (I will stay away from more spoilers). If these "big stars" can die, so can you. This subconscious attack on the audience is vicious. Something like what Hitchcock did with Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960). No wonder people walked out of the movie, or came out of the film terrified, trying to touch their faces lesser than usual.

Soderbergh is not interested in making a horror film or a monster film. His approach is more cerebral. He makes sure he points out the macrocosmic lies, the harsh bi-product of a pandemic. The political organizations do not leave the opportunity to rake in the cash. This is typical Soderbergh but as always, he is also interested in the microcosm. The families. The friends. Everybody wants a vaccine, a cure. In this dire situation, wouldn't you want to save your family first? There are two men who are forced to blurt out an answer: Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) and Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne). Mitch Emhoff is the common American man, for him this question has an obvious answer. I did have a few problems with Daddy Emhoff and the goofy sub-plot of the daughter and the boyfriend but it serves as a breather more than a distraction.

Dr. Cheever is the man in power. For him, the answer is more of a quandary, it doesn't come easy because of his connections. No blue pill and red pill here. Both of these men deal with this in their own ways. I especially loved the scene when Dr. Cheever visits the employee (John Hawkes) and his son near the end. This is where the film really scores. The film is told chronologically, well, not exactly, as it starts with Day 2 of the outbreak and not Day 1. We see Day 1 right in the end, I'm sure Soderbergh wanted to evoke the idea of the human touch. The hand-shake and its primordial connotation, as Dr. Cheever informs us and his employee. Soderbergh questions the ugly side of human touch. But how ugly can that side really be? Both Dr. Cheever and Mitch Emhoff discover their own sides.

Kate Winslet plays Dr. Erin Mears, possibly my favorite character in the film, I love watching good-hearted people on screen. The ones who don't falter in showing their kind heart, their sacrificial nature unflinching. Somebody like Annie (Juanita Moore) from Imitation of Life (1959). Marion Cotillard and Jennifer Ehle introduce us to two more fascinating characters - Dr. Leonora Orantes and Dr. Ally Hextall. Dr. Hextall is bent on finding a vaccine. When her efforts are appreciated, her reaction is deeply moving to say the least. There is another character, Alan Krumwiede played by Jude Law, this plot-line is invigorating, erratic and a wee bit troublesome, all at the same time. He wants to save the world entire, but look at the scene where he has the chance to save just one life (or two, if he tries).

I absolutely loved the ultra-modern techno score by Cliff Martinez. It meticulously built the tension, sublimely 21st century in its method. This is not an easy film to watch. Certainly not an easy one to mull over, much after the film.

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