Contagion (2011): ****

Beth (Gywneth Paltrow) has returned to her home in Minneapolis after a business trip in Hong Kong, feeling a little jet-lagged. However, Beth begins to have seizures and her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) rushes her to the hospital in a futile attempt to save her life. Beth is one of several people who have caught a deadly virus, the beginnings of an epidemic which spreads throughout the world. A group of scientists from the CDC and WHO are racing to find the source of the disease, with Dr. Mears (Kate Winslet) heading to Minneapolis and Dr. Orantes (Marion Cotillard) to Hong Kong. Meanwhile at the CDC, Dr. Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) tasks Dr Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) to find out what the virus is and to begin work on a vaccine before the world population is decimated drastically.  

In Contagion, director Steven Soderbergh effectively captures the sense of desperation in the scientific community. The government officials fear that the virus is a biological weapon. Everything is disinfected thoroughly and biohazard suits quickly become the standard uniform amongst the scientists experimenting on samples from the initial victims. The general population are left to make do with face masks and gloves, refusing to touch each other and furiously gathering supplies of hand sanitiser. Contagion almost feels claustrophobic in tone as people begin to isolate themselves, either within the supposed safety of their own home or in the high-security level laboratories. Soderbergh lingers the camera on the infected surfaces of door handles, glasses, documents, railings and so the list goes on. Soderbergh uses extreme close-ups on the pale sweaty faces of the sick characters, shivering feverishly as they succumb to the virus. The colour palette consists of medicinal blues, deathly greys, and sickly greens and yellows. Nothing looks healthy in this film. 

Scott Z. Burns’s script does not shy away from scientific terminology; it embraces it whole-heartedly. Words like ‘fomites’ and the concept of the ‘R-nought number’ are explained quickly before focusing back on the drama at hand. As the situation gets steadily worse whilst the scientists struggle to find a vaccine, the world descends into chaos. Aid workers are kidnapped in the hope their abductors will receive a vaccine quicker. There are riots in pharmacies as people desperately try to get hold of Forsynthia, a potential cure touted by conspiracy theorist Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law). Then, the world becomes a giant ghost-town as public spaces lay deserted, with people only emerging out of their hiding spots to collect rations. Burns and Soderbergh have created a realistic exploration of the social impact a pandemic would have in Contagion, using multiple narrative threads to weave between the ongoing dramas. 

Contagion is an ensemble piece and everyone gives exceptionally strong performances to their characters, who act in a realistic and human manner. One of the most effective story-lines was Dr Mears’s, portrayed by Kate Winslet. Winslet is a hardworking officer, despite the enormity of the task ahead of her in trying to contain the spread of the virus. Dr Mears’s plot brings an immediate tragic element amidst the global panic and suffering. Laurence Fishburne also gives a stand-out performance as Dr Cheever, who is co-ordinating the response to the virus within the US with the National Security Agency. Fishburne conveys the struggle Dr Cheever with carrying out his professional duties and trying to protect his staff and his loved ones. Jude Law is the self-assured blogger Krumwiede, who charts and predicts how the epidemic will continue. Law gives Krumwiede a dubious quality during his righteous speeches, never quite revealing whether Krumwiede believes in his theories or not. 

Contagion is a tense thriller told through various perspectives, charting the social and global impact of a pandemic, with a solid ensemble cast giving excellent performances.