Contagion

***Contagion*** is a 2011 American medical thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Its ensemble cast includes Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Elliott Gould, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan and Marion Cotillard. The plot concerns the spread of a virus transmitted by respiratory droplets and fomites, attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to identify and contain the disease, the loss of social order in a pandemic, and the introduction of a vaccine to halt its spread. To follow several interacting plot lines, the film makes use of the multi-narrative "hyperlink cinema" style, popularized in several of Soderbergh's films.

Following their collaboration on *The Informant!* (2009), Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns discussed a film depicting the rapid spread of a virus. Burns consulted with representatives of the World Health Organization as well as medical experts such as W. Ian Lipkin and Larry Brilliant. Principal photography started in Hong Kong in September 2010, and continued in Chicago, Atlanta, London, Dublin, Geneva, and San Francisco Bay Area until February 2011.

*Contagion* premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy on September 3, 2011, and was theatrically released on September 9, 2011. Commercially, the film made $136.5 million against its $60 million production budget. Critics praised it for its narrative and the performances, as did scientists for its accuracy. The film received renewed popularity in 2020 due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed that watching the scramble for vaccines in the film inspired him to order a much larger quantity of COVID-19 vaccines for the U.K. than he was advised, accelerating that country's eventual rollout of its vaccination programme ahead of other European countries.

## Plot

Soon after her return from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff dies from what is a flu or some other type of infection. Her young son dies later the same day. Her husband Mitch however seems immune. Thus begins the spread of a deadly infection. For doctors and administrators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, several days pass before anyone realizes the extent or gravity of this new infection. They must first identify the type of virus in question and then find a means of combating it, a process that will likely take several months. As the contagion spreads to millions of people worldwide, societal order begins to break down as people panic.

## Why It Rocks

1. It's perhaps the best "virus outbreak" movie; and what guarantees the film that title is the accuracy which is the reason the film became so relevant in the COVID19 pandemic.
2. The film refreshed the Medical Thriller genre of films.
3. Great direction from Steven Soderbergh.
4. The soundtrack is creepy and chilling, which fits into it perfectly.
5. The movie focuses on several points of view, rather than just one person. Allowing us to witness the different POVs of those affected by a pandemic: The population, the doctors, the media, etc.
	* Mitch Emhoff is a ordinary civilian wrapped up between the loss of his wife (after finding out she cheated on him) while worrying about his daughter.
	* Ellis Cheever is a CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) doctor who has to try to keep the public calm about the epidemic.
	* Leonora Orantes is a WHO (World Health Organization) epidemiologist who was kidnapped during her assignment.
	* Erin Mears is a EIS (Epidemic Intelligence Service) officer who becomes infected during her assignment and later dies.
	* Alan Krumwiede is a conspiracy theorist who gets rich during the epidemic by advertising a so-called 'cure' for the virus.
6. Has a perfect balance between serious moments and sweet moments, and each moment never goes off-track.
7. It's scientifically accurate, issuing the fact about fomites (a nonliving object that can spread diseases to people) and the fact that the CDC has to address 50 different public health policies.
8. Has some good morals, like that 'panic kills people, not disease' and that your loved ones are more important than your job.
9. The tagline ***"Nothing Spreads Like Fear"*** not only is very creative, but also scarily accurate now that we know what a pandemic is like.
10. Perhaps the most shocking and infuriating moment in the movie is the ending scene where we see how the virus started: Turns out it was because of a cook who shook hands with Matt Damon's wife **without washing his hands after touching a dead pig that ate a bat.** Remember people: **Always wash your hands.**

## Reception

*Contagion* has received positive reviews by film commentators. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 85% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 272 reviews, with an average rating of 7.09/10. The website's critics consensus states, "Tense, tightly plotted, and bolstered by a stellar cast, Contagion is an exceptionally smart – and scary – disaster movie." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on the critiques from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 70 based on 38 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.