Now Playing: Contagion

The day after I came home from the Route 66 Road Trip Extravaganza, I took in Contagion with Jadek.  Honestly, it was pretty amazing.  Steven Soderberg always surprises me with his pacing and storytelling skills.  And with a cast like it had, it's not a surprise that the acting was superb: Winslet's clinical front-line specialist, Law's questionable blogger, Cotillard's conflicted negotiator... all really good.
Really, though, the best part is the execution of the pandemic.  How it's the mundane things that will get us in the end - handshakes and kisses, elevator buttons and stair rails.  The quick decline of civility when you know it's got to be you or them, your kid or theirs.  I liked that the script didn't degenerate into a horror movie, but still kept intact the horror of humans going feral.  And I really enjoyed the realistic timeline of it all - no post-apocalyptic swelling of music or dystopian all-is-well - that leads us back to Day One.  I spent the entire movie asking "how" and I'm really happy to report that there is an answer.  Did I like it?  Will you?  You'll have to watch the movie to find out.
Which brings me to my biggest complaint: not enough "famous" deaths.  More marquee names needed to bite the bullet, I think.  In this very realistic story, I thought it just stopped short of the brutality with which this epidemic would have ravaged all people.    That's why I'd give Contagion 3.5 out of 5 stars.