Movie Review: Contagion

This Sunday I went with a group of friends to Pretoria for a Medieval Fayre that didn't materialise. Either the venue was changed or the event cancelled, in any case there was no mention of this anywhere on the web. So we decided to head off to Menlyn (what a horrible shopping centre) and watch a movie. We chose Contagion.

Nothing spreads like fear.

Having seen many mediocre dread disease movies, I was unsure of this one, especially since I had not heard of it,. But seeing it had an exquisite cast and Soderbergh generally makes good movies, I decided to give it a chance. And it exceeded my expectations.

Spoiler Alert!

"Soon after her return from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff dies from what is a flu or some other type of infection. Her young son dies a few days later. Her husband Mitch however seems immune. Thus begins the spread of a deadly infection. For doctors and administrators at the U.S. Center for Disease Control, several days pass before anyone realizes the extent or gravity of this new infection. They must first identify the type of virus in question and then find a means of combating it, a process that will likely take several months. As the contagion spreads to millions of people worldwide, societal order begins to break down as people panic."

The acting is excellent, the cinematography very clever and the plot, well, it was realistic. It showed how people react in the face of fear, the decisions they make: kidnapping, punting products that have no proven cure benefit, selflessness, looting, rioting. There is no clear black and white, just shades of grey. We really are after saving our own skins at the expense of others. It's a cynic view but deep down we know that humans are not the nicest animals out there.

And the scary part: Something like that could happen at any time, we know how fast the Spanish Flu and the Avian Flu spread.

I give it 8/10.