" It's a bad day to be a rhesus monkey "

Contagion

A modern day thriller centered around the lives of various people as a deadly virus infects millions of people around the globe. As members of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control struggle to find a cure for the virus the death toll around the world increases astronomically. With the virus spreading at a seemingly unstoppable rate the pressure builds for the CDC to find a cure as fear, chaos and desperation transpires worldwide.

There are many individual stories being told in this film from the members of CDC trying to find the cure such as Deputy Director Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne), Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) and scientist Dr. Ally Hoxtall (Jennifer Ehle). As well as father Mitch (Matt Damon) whose wife Beth (Gwenyth Paltrow) and stepson die in the first recorded case of the virus. Other prominent characters include Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) a member of the World Health Organisation and well known blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law). You would think that having such a strong cast would ensure this movie is as engaging and dramatic as advertised, sadly however it is not.

Soderbergh has included a vast array of characters to illustrate the global affect of the virus. By following these characters the detrimental impact of the virus can be seen from a variety of perspectives whether it's a character dealing with the lose of a loved one, developing symptoms themselves or struggling unsuccessfully to try and find the magic cure. The problem with having so many characters in a film played by so many well known actors, is that when they are given limited screen time as in Contagion you end up feeling cheated by their contribution. For the most part there are strong performances, however no character was given a large enough role to warrant any character development, as character development took second place to the overall story involving the spread of the virus.

The best performances come from Kate Winslet and Matt Damon, with Damon in particular displaying the most genuine form of emotion out of the cast, which is highlighted in the third act of the film. Jude Law is the only real let down as his Australian accent is ridiculous. I have no idea why he even needed an accent as he wasn't based in Australia, but as a result his character was extremely annoying and unlikeable.

Soderbergh is a really good director, I loved the Ocean's Eleven series and have enjoyed many of his other films such as Traffic and The Informant! however his directing is challenged here as Contagion proves a difficult film to make. I feel like he took on too much with this film, causing the film to lack drama and excitement. Given the scale of the virus' effect it was always going to be hard to conclude the film in a satisfying manner. I couldn't help but feel bored with the ending as everything seemed to conclude very quickly and neatly. This is a film that should have been thrilling and suspenseful throughout, however I was left almost bored throughout the film with the events unfolding in a seemingly predictable manner.

One of the most impressive aspects to this film is a promotion campaign designed for the film. A billboard which can be seen below was created using live bacteria to spell out the name Contagion, which is a really clever and original promotion idea.

Ultimately Contagion delivers exactly what you expect: a virus spreads uncontrollably across the globe, causing chaos and disruption to social order worldwide. Contagion remains an engaging, thought provoking and at times thrilling film, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed after watching it. The film unfortunately suffers from a lack of clear direction and doesn't deliver the suspense and drama that one would expect from this type of film.