Contagion: a medical thriller sure to go viral

By Kensey King     9/14/11 7:00pm

One act of physical contact is all it takes to catch the deadly virus in Steven Soderbergh's (Ocean's Eleven) new drama, Contagion. Soderbergh's vision of the world as it reacts to a raging epidemic is incredibly frightening, not because it features gory, graphic death scenes but because it realistically captures our fear of the unknown. Due to its phenomenal cast, well-developed plot and ability to instill a real fear into its audience, this film is a ?must-see.

After two days of the disease's emergence, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow, Country Strong) travels back to America from a company function in Hong Kong to her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon, The Adjustment Bureau), and son, Clark. Immediately, she starts to show severe symptoms and is rushed to the hospital, to no avail. Her death is attributed to the new disease, later named MEV-1. Unlike most illnesses, MEV-1 spreads from just one touch, and kills so quickly that treatment is impossible. The disease gains the attention of Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne, The Matrix), who works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who commissions Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road) to track its spread, and Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle, The King's Speech) to figure out exactly where it came from and how to cure it. More complications arise as the disease causes worldwide panic, as everyone is told to avoid all human contact and freelance blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law, Sherlock Holmes) posts that he has found a cure.

The movie jumps between the lives of six different individuals affected by MEV-1. Due to this smart plot structure, the movie never crowns one true protagonist, allowing the entire cast to shine. Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon have great on-screen chemistry and manage to connect with the audience from the very beginning. Kate Winslet and Laurence Fishburne also deliver in this film, proving that they are still as talented as ever. While Jude Law is mostly associated with romantic comedies, Law's character in Contagion is all about business. Law successfully captures the spirit of the intellectual hippie who is unapologetically bold and balances it with his natural charm, allowing for his character to have poise and likability. Making for the perfect humble hero, Jennifer Ehle shines in her role with grace and maturity. The supporting cast, which has too many established actors to credit, also adds to the quality of the film and proves that Contagion owes much of its excellence to its all-star cast.

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Along with the cast, Contagion is successful in its perspective of a worldwide epidemic by staying grounded and not going too Hollywood over-the-top. The film is easily the best developed drama in 2011 so far. Capturing every emotion from sadness to horror to love, Contagion will make you realize why the fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of ?them all.

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