MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Contagion  Rated PG-13

Directed by Steven Soderbergh.  Starring Matt Damon, Jude Law

Photo: Warener Brothers
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

After watching Contagion, director Steven Soderbergh’s cautionary tale about a viral pandemic that kills millions of people around the world, I was surprised that I wasn’t more afraid of life. 

Before I get into my own reaction, let me say that Contagion is a very good film, indeed.  It has a smart and intelligent script (mildly hampered by a few too many speeches in which a central character has to explain science to us – but I will admit that I am ignorant, so that’s what a movie has to do!) and very compassionate characters.  From the widowed spouse (Damon) of an early victim to research scientists and the staff of the Center for Disease Control, these are good people trying to come up with solutions to an incredibly devastating disease.  Even the snarky Internet blogger (Law) is rendered in a way that reveals his divided nature.

The terrible illness that eventually travels across the globe at breakneck speed is met in this film with a spirit of global cooperation.  Contagion suggests that, in areas of pure science, we have the capacity to do more together than separately.  While I would like to believe that this is true, the skeptic in me is well aware of how pharmaceutical companies compete for the next big lucrative discovery.  The cost of medication for HIV-AIDS was kept high for a long time, in spite of the global need for treatment of this deadly disease.

So it is great to see a film that reminds us that we are a world community and that we have it within our power to do great acts of kindness together.  This is good theology as well as good medicine.

On an emotional level, this movie pushed few buttons for me.  I don’t have to see a camera focused on a bowl of peanuts in a community bowl to scare me away from nibbling; just seeing guys walking out of the restroom and over to the snacks will do that. And I don’t need to think about a worldwide pandemic to get anxious about germs; the number of infections that people pick up during routine hospital stays is sobering enough. In other words, I’m already plenty worried about everyday infection – you don’t have to shout about it.

Pitchfork/Halo Ratings:

Four halos: An intelligent and compassionate film about the global ramifications of a viral pandemic.

Two pitchforks: Some disturbing scenes of death and a graphic autopsy; implied infidelity.

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