Contagion - B+

In theaters. Rated R, 105 minutes. Trailer.

Contagion is a taut and wonky film about a modern-day deadly virus that causes a near collapse of civilization. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring a ridiculous cast (Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow), the film presents a chillingly realistic 2 weeks in the life of a virus and the attempt to contain it. The film is intelligent, interesting, and ambiguous. Click below for more on the best film so far this year:

Soderbergh uses his considerable skill to weave together the governmental response at the Center for Disease Control (CDC), a subplot in China involving the World Health Organization (WHO), a crazy blogger and Matt Damon's family and survival. We are challenged to think about what we would do in each of their shoes and reminded that all the things that normalize society can go away very quickly when survival is not assured. I enjoyed the pulsating score and loved the intense but not scary tone that Soderbergh struck. Definitely worth your time - might rise to an A- on a second viewing. Here's an article from the NYTimes on the plausibility of the film from one of its technical advisors. Here's a great article discussing the history of 'disease cinema'.