David O'ConnellContagion
October 17th 2011 04:53
Steven Soderbergh only need click his fingers and a network of friends assembles for the cause of the director’s latest project. Like the Oceans trilogy before it, his latest, Contagion, is crammed with big name stars, setting up the prospect of something exceptional. Expectation is a dangerous thing, however.
Sadly, just like the maligned middle pin of the Oceans trilogy, Contagion is a resounding failure, a film that trades in obvious fears of a viral extermination of millions for rudimentary characterisations that deprive the narrative of its humanity. In place of people we get posturing, political manoeuvring and the inevitable outcome of a lop-sided numbers game.
From a first cough, issued from the mouth of Beth Emhof (Gwyneth Paltrow) before the first frame, we know that a contagious disease, in its embryonic stage, is about to detonate. It’s scary how efficiently this anonymous but deadly strain works to eliminate those who contract it from the initial 24 hours. Like an unstoppable downhill train, the disease picks up speed, multiplying its hold each day as scientists toil ceaselessly in an effort to combat it, even before they’ve understood a thing about it.
Contagion, after an intriguing and frightening first hour half, then begins to bog down, before plodding to the finish line with a dreary, half-hearted compromise. With the focus constantly shifting, little emotional connection can be made to any individual character. For a while it seems like Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) will be the narrative’s centrepiece, or perhaps Laurence Fishburne’s Dr. Cheever.
But the need to expand outward, encompassing a more universal perspective, means that resources for contextualising these people and establishing a framework with hardened, secure boundaries become limited. The drama suffers exponentially, becoming tedious just when heart-rates should be on the rise. It’s hard to fathom how dreary and lifeless the film becomes in the second half. Scott Z. Burns’ screenplay is what truly requires a transfusion to keep it alive.
Matt Damon as Mitch Emhof, the husband of the first victim, tries valiantly to fashion a human face for the unfolding tragedy but again, working within the confines of only limited scenes, he’s essentially fighting a losing battle. The film’s lowest ebb arrives with virtually every scene featuring the awful Jude Law as the (appropriately) absurdly named Alan Krumwiede which, trust me, sounds even more ridiculous when pronounced aloud. Krumwiede is an egotistical blogger/social campaigner with an agenda of his own – not to mention an absurd and distracting accent which may possibly be Law’s attempt at sounding Australian.
The eclectic electronic score by Cliff Martinez, occasionally fused with a larger organic sound, distracts in a positive way at times, but with Contagion (2011) the prolific Soderbergh has delivered one of the least interesting works of his career. It’s truly sad when a disease-of-the-week film makes you nostalgic for Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman in Outbreak (1995).
Contagion opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday, October 20.
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