Just Watched: Contagion Over the years, Steven Soderbergh has time and again given us films that are gritty and of extreme social significance, with the exception of the Ocean’s Trilogy (Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen). He has, ever since, been come to be known as a thinking man’s director. It had been quite a while since I had seen any of the man’s films. The last film of his that I happened to see was The Girlfriend Experience, which showed a lot of promise but was, at the end of the day, a very underwhelming story about the life of a high-end escort. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to call it a failed attempt at prospective smut. Contagion looked promising primarily because of the cast. It was the first time in my living memory that three Best Actress Oscar winners from within a decade were doing the same film (Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Kate Winslet). The film didn’t let me down at all. In fact, considering that I went in with lowered expectations, I was more than satisfied by it. Contagion is about the outbreak of a deadly disease and how the people affected by it deal with the infection. Told in a very docu-drama format, it goes into how doctors and other health officials handle the delicate situation to how desperate people can get to find a cure. With a grand ensemble cast, no one gets a lot of time on screen, except for maybe Laurence Fishburne, who is very restrained yet effective in his role. For me, the two actors who performed the best were Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon. Cotillard pitches in a remarkable performance as a World Health Organization (WHO) epidemician sent to track the origin of the virus. With the limited time she has on screen, she excels in each and every frame. Damon, on the other hand, plays a man who has to come to terms with a lot and still be in a position to weigh his reponsibilities. Kate Winslet was fabulous in her role and Gwyneth Paltrow was very good in what was probably the most important role in the film. Jennifer Ehle was the film’s surprise package for holding her own amongst such seasoned performers. The performance which annoyed me the most was Jude Law’s. I think he should stick to playing the pompous jackass in all his future films. Maybe that was the point of his role, but I was a little too annoyed by him overdoing things. It was also good to see Bryan Cranston in a major film after having been used to him in Breaking Bad. Demetri Martin being in this film was a pleasant surprise as it was good to see that he can do more than just stand-up comedy. The final scene of the film that shows us how the infection started is rather chilling and is a very realistic look at how doomsday may come upon us, without all the mind-boggling drama. Soderbergh, once again, proves that when it comes to showing social behaviour in reaction to an event by cutting across various lines, there is no one better than him. For him, it is a journey that has come full circle — from Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Traffic to Contagion. This film shows that he’s come of age, and is hence highly recommended. Personal Rating: 8.6/10
Pop-upView Separately

Just Watched: Contagion

Over the years, Steven Soderbergh has time and again given us films that are gritty and of extreme social significance, with the exception of the Ocean’s Trilogy (Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen). He has, ever since, been come to be known as a thinking man’s director.

It had been quite a while since I had seen any of the man’s films. The last film of his that I happened to see was The Girlfriend Experience, which showed a lot of promise but was, at the end of the day, a very underwhelming story about the life of a high-end escort. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to call it a failed attempt at prospective smut.

Contagion looked promising primarily because of the cast. It was the first time in my living memory that three Best Actress Oscar winners from within a decade were doing the same film (Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Kate Winslet).

The film didn’t let me down at all. In fact, considering that I went in with lowered expectations, I was more than satisfied by it. Contagion is about the outbreak of a deadly disease and how the people affected by it deal with the infection. Told in a very docu-drama format, it goes into how doctors and other health officials handle the delicate situation to how desperate people can get to find a cure.

With a grand ensemble cast, no one gets a lot of time on screen, except for maybe Laurence Fishburne, who is very restrained yet effective in his role. For me, the two actors who performed the best were Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon. Cotillard pitches in a remarkable performance as a World Health Organization (WHO) epidemician sent to track the origin of the virus. With the limited time she has on screen, she excels in each and every frame. Damon, on the other hand, plays a man who has to come to terms with a lot and still be in a position to weigh his reponsibilities.

Kate Winslet was fabulous in her role and Gwyneth Paltrow was very good in what was probably the most important role in the film. Jennifer Ehle was the film’s surprise package for holding her own amongst such seasoned performers. The performance which annoyed me the most was Jude Law’s. I think he should stick to playing the pompous jackass in all his future films. Maybe that was the point of his role, but I was a little too annoyed by him overdoing things.

It was also good to see Bryan Cranston in a major film after having been used to him in Breaking Bad. Demetri Martin being in this film was a pleasant surprise as it was good to see that he can do more than just stand-up comedy.

The final scene of the film that shows us how the infection started is rather chilling and is a very realistic look at how doomsday may come upon us, without all the mind-boggling drama.

Soderbergh, once again, proves that when it comes to showing social behaviour in reaction to an event by cutting across various lines, there is no one better than him. For him, it is a journey that has come full circle — from Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Traffic to Contagion. This film shows that he’s come of age, and is hence highly recommended.

Personal Rating: 8.6/10

Just Watched: Public Enemies After two decent outings in Miami Vice and Collateral, Michael Mann continues to tackle crime in this film, albeit he delves deeper into crime during the Great Depression and how the Bureau of Investigation (which later became the FBI) managed to control it, with much difficulty. One can’t be blamed for expecting a lot from this film considering that Mann is a wonderful film maker and that the principal cast in the movie is very appealing. However, the film doesn’t match up to expectations. That, however, doesn’t affect the film much, as it still is a wonderful piece of cinema, with great performances and techinical brilliance. Johnny Depp as John Dillinger takes the cake for giving an exceptional performance while giving a very humane side to the famous gangster. Christian Bale too, is wonderful as Melvin Purvis, but then with Depp around you, your performance somehow gets overshadowed, something that Bale is quite used to of late. Marion Cotillard as Dillinger’s love interest is very effective too. The film’s surprise package, however, is Billy Crudup’s mercurial act as James Edgar Hoover, the man responsible for the birth of the FBI. This, after Watchmen, is yet another film in which he has acted in that will make it to my top 5 this year. Overall, this film is recommended for all that it tries to show, and for expressing itself in the way modern cinema ought to be expressed. Personal Rating: 8.2/10
Pop-upView Separately

Just Watched: Public Enemies

After two decent outings in Miami Vice and Collateral, Michael Mann continues to tackle crime in this film, albeit he delves deeper into crime during the Great Depression and how the Bureau of Investigation (which later became the FBI) managed to control it, with much difficulty.

One can’t be blamed for expecting a lot from this film considering that Mann is a wonderful film maker and that the principal cast in the movie is very appealing. However, the film doesn’t match up to expectations. That, however, doesn’t affect the film much, as it still is a wonderful piece of cinema, with great performances and techinical brilliance.

Johnny Depp as John Dillinger takes the cake for giving an exceptional performance while giving a very humane side to the famous gangster. Christian Bale too, is wonderful as Melvin Purvis, but then with Depp around you, your performance somehow gets overshadowed, something that Bale is quite used to of late. Marion Cotillard as Dillinger’s love interest is very effective too. The film’s surprise package, however, is Billy Crudup’s mercurial act as James Edgar Hoover, the man responsible for the birth of the FBI. This, after Watchmen, is yet another film in which he has acted in that will make it to my top 5 this year.

Overall, this film is recommended for all that it tries to show, and for expressing itself in the way modern cinema ought to be expressed.

Personal Rating: 8.2/10