This is another one of those films which I watched without having any idea about it whatsoever. Any preliminary impressions I might have had came from the title alone.
This film was also produced by Image Nation, which is a company based in Abu Dhabi. So I believe we can expect Arab wealth to find its way into Hollywood in the near future.
So anyway, my first thought was, "Contagion? Sounds like some sort of virus. Maybe it's a zombie movie or something." Because that's typically how zombie movies start. There's some sort of killer virus in the beginning, then it begins to mutate and spread, then brat-tat-tat-tat, you get machine gun fire, then blood and gore, and before you know it, it's a full-blown zombie apocalypse.
But not this film.
Yes, this one's about a virus, and a killer virus at that. Except this one centers on the human drama. Well, not just centers, but more of focuses entirely on the human drama. What happens when a killer virus strikes? How does humanity react? And this chronicles humanity's reaction on all levels. The plot absolutely does not take a zombie apocalypse direction.
What makes this film work as a drama is the extremely talented ensemble. This is like a Dream Team for the acting department. Here are the starters (in alphabetical order), who all have Acadamy Award trophies which they can use to bash your head in.
Marion Cotillard
 |
She is so beautiful, she looks great
in any hairstyle. |
Matt Damon
(who by the way does not have an acting Oscar)
 |
| "I don't care." |
Gwyneth Paltrow
 |
| "Asdajijcapemajapinc" |
and
Kate Winslet
 |
| "Hmm?" |
Next we have two reserves, who have no Oscar trophies, but who have been nominated at some point in their lives.
Laurence Fishburne
 |
Morpheus can whoop your ass
while drinking coffee. |
and
Jude Law
 |
| "I was nominted twice." |
By the time the film ended, which was when everyone had the cure injected up their nasal cavity, I thought "Well, this is a pretty decent film. It's quite good, actually." And then the end credits flash.
Okay. That explains everything.
And on a final note: Jennifer Ehle has a very pretty face.
 |
| "I know, right?" |
Contagion. USA/UAE. 2011.
Rating: Seven point nine out of ten.
*some info from IMDb
This film by Guy Ritchie came out in good time. Amidst every comic book superhero to be reborn on the big screen, Sherlock Holmes stands out like the Batman of the industrial revolution. Cinematography and special effects dolled up the movie just like a Marvel adaptation, but I like the creepy vignette in the OBB and again in flashbacks on clues, smoothly using a blinding flash similar to that of 19th Century photography. The music spells out “mystery” in all kinds of tingly sensations that it scored so high in my book.
As Holmes laughs at Watson’s plans of marriage, so does Watson at Holmes’ taste in women. Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), a thief of men’s hearts and money around the world, is the only woman who’s ever outwitted Sherlock. If Batman has Catwoman, Holmes has Irene, who gets past his security system and turns all his screws loose. The coy playfulness between lovers-turned-enemies-turned-comrades-in-arms to fight a greater evil than each other is a win for the casting of Robert Downey Jr. and Rachel McAdams. Watson's fiancée Mary is initially suspected by the detective to have it in for the doctor’s stature, to which she throws her drink to his face and doesn’t help him out of jail later on. Sherlock’s rash judgment may have been caused by his previous divorce with Irene. The two leading ladies may seem to be opposites of each other at first glance: one secretive and the other prim. We eventually discover that both are rightly proper and rightly devious in their own respect. And so are their leading men: Holmes is useless to society without a case to solve; Watson is as reserved as any good doctor. The lure of mystery and the thrill of the chase are what binds them. Holmes becomes order, calculating beyond imagination, and Watson turns to chaos, seeking out danger, saving each other's necks every time.
