Fascinating and True....

Rating: 7/10 (18 March 2007)

This movie still interests me every time I watch it. No, it is most certainly not a great or perfect film, and definitely not the best of the decade, as some have claimed. It is, however, a fascinating show of what would happen on Earth if Alien Contact were ever achieved. Everyone would freak.
This is the story of a young scientist named Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) who has lived her entire life believing that there must be something else out there sharing the universe with us. Otherwise, it seems like an awful waste of space. After fighting a losing battle for years to keep her program alive, she finally discovers an alien message by complete chance. After further study, they then discover that it is the blue-prints for a machine to be used to send someone to (presumably) meet them. With that news spread to the world, so begins the chaos of human reaction as the world must decide how to act on this data.
The story is brilliant, one of the best things about the movie. We have all wondered at one time or another in our lives if there were other beings trying to contact us from outer space. Could there be intelligent life-forms out there? If so, what do they want- are they hostile or benign? This is the question that is posed for America in this film, and the country reacts exactly as I imagine it would in real life: Skepticism, over-reaction, and fanaticism all inter-mingling with each other. The portrayal of how the human race reacts is so true, that it feels frighteningly real.
The cast works very well at their individual roles. Jodie Foster shows her real acting chops once again as the dreamer-of-a-scientist who really is searching for just one thing: Meaning in her life. The supporting cast does just what they're supposed to: support. Matthew McConaughy plays the role of the man who is stuck between two worlds just fine, and James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, and Angela Bassett all turn in nice work. The real stand-out of the supporters is William Fichtner as Ellie's blind mentor. He does very well.
It's a fine movie, one of the better science-fiction dramas for sure. However, it's not amazing, nor is it ground-breaking. It's just fun and interesting to watch every time. After all, that is what movies are supposed to be. 7/10 stars!
Jay Addison