“CONTAGION” Movie Review. A grim REMINDER that this CAN happen Anytime, Anywhere.

“CONTAGION” PRESS PREVIEW

At this present time and age, life on earth ain’t anything stupendous to crow about.

We are deluged with political wars, terrorism, man-induced disasters and mysterious ailments which are horrific issues to reckon with.

The future looks grim.  Everything is easier promised than done.

We may cringe at mistakes of the past, but it’s downright disturbing when we stop to think of similar disasters that may erupt again.

CONTAGION poses as this provocative reminder.

The film rips apart a desolate world that’s caught in gross panic as this deadly disease looms larger than life to claim its victims.

The virus is airborne, contagious and lethal – and seeks to mercilessly infect – and woe betides anyone who stands in its way, if you happen to be at the wrong place, the wrong time.

Death can strike within the next couple of days for the infected.

As the speedy epidemic spreads, the worldwide medical community is in dire straits. It’s a scary race against time to find a cure to control the pandemonium that’s spinning out of control and spreading faster than the virus itself.

In the mid of this psychological brace-to-die situation, hapless people are meanwhile dropping dead one by one.

CONTAGION is the latest film from director Steven Soderbergh and  is anchored by a posse of Oscar winners Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard.

Selling itself as a ensemble film, it is in part, an international espionage thriller, albeit a probing medical mystery.

The message it carries is gruesome.

The world we live in is stark and sick.

Despite modern science, many unknown diseases are emerging from the closet, most without cures.

Soon life will imitate art, thus creating the imminence of doomsday.

Director Steven Soderbergh opens the film not on Day 1 of the epidemic but on Day 2, leaving us to ponder about the virus’ origins and how Gwyneth Paltrow’s Beth Emhoff contacted the virus whilst on a business trip to Hong Kong.

Once home in Minneapolis, Beth develops the virus’ nasty symptoms before she’s rushed to a hospital and dies. Her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) has trouble accepting her death. But soon, as more and more people die, it becomes clear that a highly contagious virus is the culprit.

Soderbergh draws our attention to how innocently the virus can be spread: from a handshake, from picking up a credit card or a glass and from a cough.

The second part of the movie appears to preamble like a documentary and digs up questions about the fatality of  humankind should things go very wrong.

Intense, devastating performances from the leads keep us on edge.

For the film director, he succeeds in bringing forth a thought-provoking and definitive closing statement.

It is a grim reminder that this disease can happen and spread anytime, anywhere.

Be warned.