Last weekend some friends and I went to see Contagion. I had to see it in theaters once I found out that Kate Winslet (my favorite actress) is in it… and actors like Marion Cotillard and Jude Law added extra incentive. Once I was watching the movie I found that it has other fantastic actors as well (such as Elliott Gould, also known as Monica and Ross’s father on Friends). And this film is incredibly worthy of its stars!
Contagion is about a global pandemic and what it could look like in today’s society. The film follows multiple points of view, tracking the original victims of the disease and, in the case Beth Emhoff (from Minneapolis!), her family, along with employees of the Centers for Disease Control (one of whom is sent to Minneapolis), the World Health Organization (one of whom is sent to Hong Kong), the scientists researching the disease/looking for a vaccination and a blogger whose posts encourage mass hysteria. In this pandemic thriller, society as we know it falls apart when facing this unknown killer.
I’m fascinated by medical thrillers, but none have captured my attention quite like this one. While it was difficult to watch at times, my attention was focused on this film all the way through. But I really grew to love it once it was over because, a week later, I am still thinking about it! It has a lot of little gems that came back to me after it was over. I’m sure I’ll see it again soon after it’s released on DVD.
And now, for a little story that took place after seeing the movie. I went to see it with a few friends and walked out of the theater with Sarah after it finished. As we walked to our cars, I stopped to take my picture for the day before searching for my keys. I was having trouble digging them out of my purse, so I held my camera out to Sarah, asking her to hold it. And she hesitated.
That’s right, she hesitated! Afterward she apologized, but I wasn’t offended at all. I just thought it was incredibly funny!
I’ll end with a quick reminder that tomorrow, Saturday, September 24th is the start of Banned Books Week. Celebrate the freedom to read! What banned books will you be reading?
This movie is talked about a lot, and now you writing about it makes me think it really is a worthy one.
I've never heard of Banned Books Week, btw! It sounds fun 🙂