First class drama

Rating: Null/10 (9 July 1999)

Amidst your Armageddon's and Independence Day's it's reassuring that movies like this are still being made. Contact is an intelligent film, which surround the eventuality of first contact. The key to making this movie work is in letting the audience decide for themselves, rather than taking a definitive stance on the subject. For this, the writer and director should be applauded.
On all levels this is an example of first-class film making, one which required a top notch cast to pull it all off. Luckily, Jodie Foster leads the way with another remarkably subtle performance as the seeker of truth. Able support comes in the form of Tom Skerrit, and James Woods who acts as the sceptic in us all.
As a director, Zemecks is one of the best, having made some truly visual spectacles over the years (Back To The Future and Forrest Gump spring to mind), and with Contact he manages to keep you enthralled for two hours, using many dramatic camera tricks to enliven scenes that were bordering on being overlong. One of Contact's surprises is in its use of special effects, not the obvious ones, but those that go unnoticed by the majority of the audience. It really is amazing how much attention to detail is on show here. However, the movie isn't perfect, and one problem that can't be ignored is the character played by Jake Busey. The ultimate purpose of this guy should have been dealt with in a more believable manner.
Nit-picking aside, Contact is one of the few movies made these days that not only makes you think, but places at the top of its priority list those oft neglected factors - dialogue and plot development. I just wish more movies were made with the obvious care and attention to detail that went into making Contact one of the best dramas of 1997.
9/10.