Excellent mix of science and human nature with only one major flaw.

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2007)

This adaptation of Carl Sagan's novel is one of the better science fiction movies of recent years, in part because it doesn't necessarily need to be viewed as a science fiction movie. I think this had a polarizing effect on audiences. People who just went to see a movie said "wow, that was a great movie and made me think a little", while people who went to see spaceships and aliens said "I waited for two and a half ours to see an alien and it was her &@#% dad." Contact is not a movie about radio telescopes, data encryption, aliens, spacecraft, or time travel, though all of these things are critical to the plot. Nor is it a movie about religion, despite the main character being hounded for her lack of belief in God. At its core, Contact is a movie about belief without proof, about the ability of human beings to draw strength from what they know to be true within themselves.
Astronomer Dr. Eleanor Arroway (Jodie Foster) is led by her belief in scientific principles, as well as the untimely death of her parents, to doubt the existence of God. As a scientist, she simply cannot fathom the presence of an almighty being that can't be explained by scientific principles. Her counterpart, Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) is a man of faith. He was made so by an experience during which he says he "felt god", and could not deny it, regardless of what anybody else believes. As such, Joss cannot envision a world without a God. This makes them seemingly polar opposites, which could be the setup for yet another boring "opposites attract" romantic subplot, but as the movie reveals, the two are actually very similar.
In short, Dr. Arroway's search for extraterrestrial life becomes a success when she discovers a message sent by aliens containing instructions on how to build an interstellar transport device. Unfortunately, the device can house only one human, and Dr. Arroway's lack of belief in God leads the international selection committee to pass on her, feeling she does not effectively represent humanity. 95% of the world believes without hard evidence that a God exists, leaving Dr. Arroway as an outsider.
During the process, however, we see that in some ways, Dr. Arroway indeed has more faith than the religious 95%. Where many suspect the alien plans of being malicious, Dr. Arroway remains resolute that the message was delivered in the language of science, and must therefore represent a desire to increase knowledge, not to conquer. She also exhibits faith in the design of the transport device itself. While others want to add safety devices not illustrated in the schematics, she has faith that the aliens' design is exact and should not be altered.
After the first device is destroyed by terrorists, Dr. Arroway is chosen to go aboard a second device. Once onboard, she appears to fly through space, meet an alien and discuss humanity's place in the universe, and return home. During her trip, Dr. Arroway experiences a celestial event that is so beautiful she cannot describe it. She is moved to tears as she whispers that she has no words to describe it, that they should have sent a poet. This subtle moment entirely alters Dr. Arroway and her perception of the universe, as neither English, or her favorite language, science, can adequately describe the beauty of the event. This is Dr. Arroway's equivalent of Palmer Joss meeting God.
However, from outside the vehicle, it appears that she never left Earth, since the vehicle was only out of contact for a split second. She has no evidence of her "experience", no artifacts brought back from distant stars, no photographs of aliens, nothing. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Dr. Arroway believes without physical proof that she went somewhere, but the world, and in particular the congressional committee called to investigate the mission, is skeptical and rejects her story. After the mission she is still an outsider, but the sides have been reversed. Before the mission, it was painful to watch Dr. Arroway being pushed aside because she does not believe, but after the mission it is even more painful to watch as she is asked to deny her belief, her truth, something which defines her as a person. However, we recognize that her belief in her experience is just the same as Joss' belief that he felt God, and this belief without proof forms a bond between the two. We are made to think about the invaluable nature of one's beliefs, whatever they may be, and just how central our idea of "truth" is to our existence.
Now to the flaw I mentioned, which is the only reason I rate this film a 9 instead of a 10. It comes at the end, when Rachel Constantine and Micheal Kitz discuss the contents of Dr. Arroway's mission recorder. Dr. Arroway mentioned earlier that her "experience" lasted approximately 18 hours. Constantine states that the recorder contained approximately 18 hours of static. This ruins the ending of the movie, because it proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Dr. Arroway's experience was real. Up to this moment the audience is allowed to be split as to their beliefs. We may want to believe in Dr. Arroway's fantastic journey, but we have to weigh that against her loneliness, her need to validate her research, and her fervent belief in extraterrestrial life. Did she actually leave? Was it a hoax by Hadden as Kitz suggests? Is Hadden actually from Vega? Did she imagine the whole thing? Is she lying? How can we decide? It's a question of belief, but the data recorder removes the audience from the equation and makes the decision for us.
In a movie about belief without proof, why ham-handedly supply proof? Why is the audience not left to believe what they want?