What Do The Critics Say?

"What is most disturbing about this 'what if' scenario in which a deadly contagious disease is transmitted like wildfire throughout the world is the fact that it is not far from the possibility of it occurring. Without doubt, hand-washing will get a boost from the film and we may think twice before shaking hands and eating peanuts from airport lounges. Soderbergh has gathered a talented cast." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "A mystery virus triggers a global pandemic in this taut and intelligent medical drama. As eco-scientists Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet and Jennifer Ehle struggle to identify, contain and combat the bug to prevent millions from becoming infected. Their efforts, meanwhile, are hampered by a sensationalist conspiracy-theory. Matt Damon stands out as Paltrow's seemingly immune husband." Terry Staunton RADIO TIMES "This almost documentary-like film is dramatic without being melodramatic. I was impressed with the almost existential approach of Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns. Soderbergh has gathered a talented cast. Performances from a top cast, often only in the film for a brief time, are terrific. Of course this story has been told before but not, as I recall, quite so intelligently. It's so measured and credible." Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES "Steven Soderbergh takes a pleasingly intelligent approach to the outbreak thriller genre and the results are simultaneously gripping and emotionally engaging thanks to pacey direction, a smart script and terrific performances from a fine ensemble cast. Soderbergh maintains a gripping pace throughout. On top of that, Soderbergh's not above exploiting his starry cast for blackly comic ends." Matthew Turner VIEW LONDON

"The cast works as an ensemble, each playing small to medium parts in the whole, all of them delivering complete and complex characterisations, from the smallest support roles to the meatier characters. Laurence Fishburne has a prominent role as the medical executive and Jennifer Ehle is engaging as the research doctor whose own research scientist father has been infected. Contagion is not an escapist entertainment; it asks each of us: what would I do, and would I be proud of it?" Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE "A highly watchable film, terrifying in its realism. We can just imagine these events panning out. While watching the film, you will become acutely aware of every cough in the cinema and how often you touch your face. In fact, Contagion will fill you with paranoia, a trait which, judging from the success of this film in America, is likely to be catching. A highly watchable film, terrifying in its realism." Roz Laws BIRMINGHAM POST "A top cast, a really good cast, all in top form, intelligently written, intelligently directed. It's terrific. I was really impressed with this film It's terrific. I was really impressed with this film and I think it's one of the best things he's done actually. And it's logistically quite impressive because it takes place in so many different. I like it very much. I'm giving it four and a half." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES "There's certainly a lot going on in Contagion, the ambitious new apocalyptic film from acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh. Contagion is a well-shot and generally well-acted, tightly produced thriller that has you more enthralled than other films dealing with plagues, global warming and/or asteroids. Be warned: take your own hand-sanitiser, you'll want to use it obsessively while you watch." Grant McAvaney MOVIEFIX

The Inside Story Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t touch anyone. Stay away from other people. Question! How many times have you wished a work-mate had stayed home, rather than come to work with the Flu? Have you ever expressed dismay at selfish parents who knowingly dump their germ laden little brats at the local school or childminding centre, knowing full well that they're likely to infect others? How many times have you been the only person in a restroom to wash their hands after going to the toilet? And, what's your reaction to ignorant people, who in the height of the Cold and Flu season, with little or no regard for anyone elses well-being: travel on crowded buses, trains and planes; coughing, spluttering and sneezing their filthy germs into the airconditioned confined space. Just the thought of those senarios is enough to make you sick: right? Director Steven Soderbergh's new film, "Contagion", raises questions about what might happen: on a personal, national and global level; if we were sudenly faced with an unknown and quickly replicating deadly disease which was able to spread unchecked. How would it start? How would it move? How would we deal with it? Many might be thinking that we have been pretty lucky so far. In 1918 the Spanish flu decimated the world in a pandemic that lasted from June 1918 to December 1920, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. Between 50 and 100 million died, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. The important point to remember is that the world population was just 1.86 billion at the time. Today, with a population of 7 billion, it's not hard to imagine the effect and speed with which a new contagion that we have no resistence to, could spread thanks to: air travel, the close confines of modern living and; a lack of personal hygiene. Scientists have estitmated such a contagion could wipe out around two and a half billion people. CONTAGION noun 1 A spreading of disease by bodily contact. 2 contagious disease. "I think it’s always compelling to watch people struggling with a real-world problem, especially one with a ticking clock, where the stakes couldn’t be any higher," 2001 Oscar® winning director Seven Soderbergh ("Traffic"), whose new film, raises questions about what might happen: on a personal, national and global level; if an unknown and quickly replicating deadly disease was able to spread unchecked, notes. How would it start? How would it move? And how would we deal with it? The inspiration for "Contagion" was sparked by a conversation, he believes, "anyone can relate to." While working together on their previous project, "The Informant!", Soderbergh ("Erin Brockovich") and screenwriter Scott Z Burns ("The Bourne Ultimatum") did a fair amount of traveling. "Steven and I spent a lot of time on planes, and we talked about how often it seems people get sick when they travel. So the idea began as an exploration of the vulnerability of human beings in public places," Burns (who produced "An Inconvenient Truth") recalls. "I think all of us, when we come down with something, tend to think back over the past few days and who we spoke to, sat next to, or touched. It’s human nature." Sharing airspace with a contagious passenger or handling objects that harbor bacteria and then unconsciously rubbing our eyes can result in an annoying cold, but, the two began to speculate, what if these common, innocent interactions were circulating something much worse? And what if it rapidly expanded to worldwide proportions? People could be dead before they knew what hit them. Even more insidious, in the hours between contact and the onset of symptoms, it would be impossible to tell who had it: or who would get it next. Oscar® winning screenwriter Matt Damon ("Good Will Hunting"), plays one of the film’s central characters Mitch Emhoff. He marked his latest collaboration with Soderbergh by revealing: "Steven’s movies don’t leave any fat on the bone. They’re lean and fast. For a subject like this, that pace mirrors the progression of the infection itself and how things spiral very quickly out of control, so you want that sense of acceleration. He knows exactly how to keep multiple threads alive and cut back to each one at the right time. The story really moves." "It’s not often you get the opportunity to make a movie that touches on themes that resonate with everyone, and can also be an entertaining thriller," says 1989 Cannes Film Festival's FIPRESCI Prize & Palme d'Or winner, Soderbergh (1989's "Sex, Lies, and Videotape"). "Having been through the research now, I will never again think the same way about how we interact with one another. You cannot immerse yourself in this world and not be forever altered by your awareness of it." That awareness, one of the film’s themes, is amplified as the virus spreads. What makes this film so frightening on both an intellectual and a visceral level is that, while fictional, it is grounded in real science and real possibilities and seen through the drama of individual lives and relationships that could soon be lost or forever changed. "It’s important that these characters feel like real people and not just medical experts or professionals in their field," says 2009 Oscar® winner Kate Winslet ("The Reader"), who stars as a doctor working in one of the disease’s first identified hot-spots. "You’re accessing the world of this epidemic through human channels." Amid recent warnings of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and the ever-present concern over potential weaponization of biological agents, "we didn’t have to make anything up that wasn’t true, in a sense, to make it a more terrifying ride," says Gregory Jacobs ("The Good German"), Soderbergh’s longtime producing partner. "I love a good zombie movie, but we know that’s not real. The impact here comes from dealing with a horror set in our own backyards that manifests, at first, like the common cold. People look normal, they’re functional, so they move around and spread it without being aware. No one realizes there’s cause for concern until they’re critical. And by then it’s too late." Producers Michael Shamberg ("Camp") and Stacey Sher ("Along Came Polly" ) were equally intrigued by how the story taps into our most primal fears and survival instincts. "It shows not only how a virus could infiltrate the population in staggering numbers but how that could affect day-to-day life, when the familiar suddenly becomes unfamiliar and you’re afraid to go back into your own house or see your friends," Shamberg observed. Sher notes: "Steven always asks 'What’s real here, what would actually happen and what would they be saying?,' because what’s real is often more chilling and smarter than anything you can make up." With that in mind, the filmmakers drew upon information they received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other infectious disease experts who served as technical advisors. It ultimately led Sher ("Pulp Fiction") to conclude: "I think the question raised by ‘Contagion’ is not whether or not this could happen. It’s more a case of when." Burns also learned that a new virus is discovered nearly every week. "That’s fifty two fresh bullets loaded into a gun and aimed at the human race every year. Executive Producer and President of Participant Media, Ricky Strauss, adds: "Everything that happens in this movie could happen, or is already happening, which is the truly scary part." When Soderbergh sent 2006 NBR Award winner Matt Damon ("The Departed") the script it came with a note that said: "Read this and then go wash your hands." "After seeing this movie in a theater filled with strangers, I’m sure that thought will definitely cross peoples minds," Damon offered. He describes his character, Mitch Emhoff, as "an everyman, one of the human faces of the epidemic." "Mitch is the audience’s proxy and their way into the story," Sher says. "Watching him do things that, days earlier, he didn’t think possible, makes you wonder what you would do to protect your family and survive, and if you could do it with the same degree of grace and courage." The movie’s themes of fear and unpredictability hit home in the relationship between Emhoff and his daughter Jory, played by Anna Jacoby-Heron, in her feature film debut. Gwyneth Paltrow was cast in the role of Beth. It reunites her onscreen with Damon for the first time since 1999's "The Talented Mr Ripley". "Beth is a working mom who audiences meet as she’s wrapping up a business trip to Hong Kong and on her way home. She’s already sick, but it doesn’t seem serious enough yet to worry her." Leading the effort to protect, inform and set public policy in the U.S. amid the fast-moving crisis is CDC Deputy Director Ellis Cheever, played by two time EMMY award winner, Laurence Fishburne, who describes his character as, "a smart, competent guy, the voice of reason. He’s the one people look to for reassurance that everything is under control, that we have the best people working on the problem and it’s going to be fine." 2008 Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose") was cast as Dr Leonora Orantes, who is tasked with the job of tracing the sequence of transmission. "Time is the enemy. As quickly as Orantes and the others work, the virus is moving even faster. People are dying and desperation is growing. When there is no more water and you need to drink, you will fight for water." While the international medical community searches for a cure, confrontational freelance journalist Alan Krumwiede, played by 2000 BAFTA Film Award winner Jude Law ("The Talented Mr Ripley) pursues an agenda of his own. Combining a genuine reporter’s instinct with a pathological distrust of all things official and a flair for the dramatic, he commits his popular blog to exposing the truth about the growing epidemic: as he sees it. "His demand for the truth could be seen as heroic," says Law ("Closer"), who plays the man who claims: among other things; that there are more deaths than are being reported, and possibly an alternative cure being suppressed. "He believes people have a right to know and that information should be shared, especially when it’s something on this scale, and he was the first to break the story of a man dying on a Tokyo bus, who turned out to be one of the virus’ first victims. He has the courage of his convictions but his pride and ego often get in the way. He casts too broad a net for his stories and doesn’t always care about the repercussions of what he puts out there." And, as Soderbergh points out: "Krumwiede is not always wrong." "What’s interesting is that you’re not really sure about him," says Jacobs ("Full Frontal"). "Is the government really hiding something and does the remedy he’s talking about really work?" Finally, what is the film’s potential impact on audiences. "I think it’s going to be shocking and dramatic and a little upsetting," says Jude Law . "Also relevant in ways you don’t necessarily think about every day. Not touching door handles, and coughing into your hand as opposed to your elbow. Suddenly all these little things start fizzing at the forefront of your consciousness." What's It All About?

An international traveler reaches into the snack bowl at an airport bar then passes her credit card to a waiter. A business meeting begins with a round of handshakes. A man coughs on a crowded bus. One contact. One instant. And a lethal virus is transmitted. When Beth returns to Minneapolis from business in Hong Kong, what she thought was jet lag takes a virulent turn. Two days later, she’s dead and doctors have no idea why. Soon, others exhibit the same mysterious symptoms: hacking coughs and fever, followed by seizure, brain hemorrhage: and ultimately, death. In Minneapolis, Chicago, London, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong, the numbers quickly multiply. One case becomes four, then sixteen, then hundreds, thousands, as the contagion sweeps across all borders, fueled by the countless human interactions that make up the course of an average day. A global pandemic explodes.

The Verdict "Interesting, slick film from Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z Burns, that will send a chill down the spine of many cinemagoers thanks to its simple premiss: if the world was suddenly hit by an unknown contagion, how devistating could it get, before science found a magic bullet cure? In a world where personal hygiene is in decline; 'Super Bugs' are spreading through our hospitals; common health problems are becoming resistant to antibiotics and, air travel is a part of every day life: it's only a matter of time. Don't think so? "Contagion" is effective enough to convince sceptics otherwise. All it takes is a simple handshake, a cough in your direction, a kiss goodbye, or sharing food at a function, that someone who is already infected, has touched. Thanks to a star-studded cast, a very interesting storyline and the excellent camera work of Oscar® winner Steven Soderbergh, most audiences should find "Contagion" an engrossing film. 4 STARS." Who Is Playing Who?

Gwyneth Paltrow Matt Damon Laurence Fishburne Jude Law Marion Cotillard Kate Winslet Monique Curnen Elliott Gould Dan Flannery Tien You Chui Josie Ho Anna Jacoby-Heron Daria Strokous Griffin Kane John Hawkes Teri McEvoy Stef Tovar Grace Rex Armin Rohde

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Beth Mitch Dr Ellis Cheever Alan Krumwiede Dr Leonora Orantes Dr Erin Mears Lorraine Vasquez Dr Ian Sussman Hextall's Father Li Fai Li Fai's Sister Jory Emhoff Irina Clark Morrow Roger School Nurse Dr. Arrington Carrie Anne Damian Leopold

The Production Team Directed by Steven Soderbergh Written by Scott Z Burns Produced by Gregory Jacobs/Michael Shamberg/Stacey Sher Original Music by Cliff Martinez Cinematography by Steven Soderbergh Film Editing by Stephen Mirrione Casting by Carmen Cuba Production Design by Howard Cummings Art Direction by Abdellah Baadil/Simon Dobbin/David Lazan Set Decoration by Cindy Carr Costume Design by Louise Frogley Run Time 106 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2011 - Warner Bros - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2011 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian & International Copyright, Trademark Laws & Intellectual Property Rights.