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Written by Gregg Shapiro, Staff writer
Sep 13, 2011
"Contagion" begins with a cough in the dark and the words “Day 2” on the screen. A jetlagged Beth (Gwynneth Paltrow) returns home to Minneapolis after a business trip to Hong Kong and a layover in Chicago, where she got laid by an ex-boyfriend.
But shortly after reuniting with husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and son Clark (Griffin Kane), she becomes seriously ill, has a seizure, is rushed to the hospital and dies. In a matter of days Clark meets the same fate.
It turns out that people in Hong Kong, London, Tokyo and San Francisco are experiencing similar symptoms, followed rapidly by death. Dr. Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is following the situation, as is Alan (Jude Law), a pesky blogger, who attempts to pitch the story to an uninterested editor.
Meanwhile elevators, mass transit, restaurants and other public places are rapidly becoming vehicles of transmission and the body count is rising.
By Day 5, the World Health Organization’s Dr. Orantes (Marion Cotillard) has enlisted the help of worldwide experts, played by Kate Winslet, Elliott Gould and others, to help develop a vaccine.
Director Steven Soderbergh skillfully balances a number of subplots in “Contagion” and keeps them compelling all the way through Day 135. He cleverly wraps up the whole infectious package with “Day 1,” in which we see the initial birth of the contagion (involving a bat and a pig) and how it was able to spread with such velocity.
“Contagion” may not have much of an impact on mega-corporations disrupting various creatures’ natural habitats. And it probably won’t stop people from eating pork. But it may make you think twice about touching your face before washing your hands.
