MovieChat Forums > Contagion (2011) Discussion > The banality of modern cinema.

The banality of modern cinema.

posted 6 years ago by LetThemEatCake (2717)
4 replies | jump to latest

Is the phrase that came up to me when watching this film. Yes it's watchable, it may even be entertaining, but it is SO BANAL one has to wonder what is the point of spending millions of dollars doing this? And the actors, I feel sorry for them. Yes they earn millions of dollars and have fame but they literally spend their entire time coughing, walking through doors, looking into space, that's what they do. That is "acting" these days. And when they are called upon to show emotion, they denigrate themselves on camera for the excuse of "realism" instead of doing things with aesthetics and form. And well, they themselves are the epitome of mediocrity, like Kate Winslet, so of course she can play mediocre very well because it's what she is, so in the end we are all being bamboozled.

I wouldn't want the old cinema to come back because neither audiences nor charlatans like Kate Winslet deserve it, but I am still mystified by film today and how irrelevant it truly is.

[–] ccr1633 (1414) 6 years ago

I agree with your sentiments, but lean toward being more merciful to this film. For starters, it's light years better than it's most known predecessor "Outbreak." Watching a washed up Dustin Hoffman battle it out with his angry ex Rene Russo was insufferable. The music in this film is pretty cool and sets an eerie, modern tone. I also liked how they saved the reveal of the contagion's initial spread until the very end, something it tipped off it would do by beginning with the Day 2 scene (it made me curious enough to watch to the bitter end). So far as cookie cutter Hollywood films go it was a passable 7/10 for me.

The main message I took from this film was this: if you have a cheating, lying scumbag of a wife who travels a lot, be sure not to touch the bitch under any circumstances.

[–] LetThemEatCake (2717) 6 years ago

lolol, is this related to Outbreak?

[–] ccr1633 (1414) 6 years ago

I don't remember Outbreak all that well, having despised it for the most part. My last comment refers to the primary message of Contagion.

[–] fountainhead (318) 4 years ago

You hit the nail on the head with what bothered me about this movie. It's not a BAD movie at all, but it's just so safe and banal that it feels more like a slick pharmaceutical company advertisement than a movie with a gripping story to tell. Virus gets out, government scientists work on vaccine, vaccine released, end of story. There was nothing that had me on the edge of my seat even as millions of people were dying in the story.

I actually prefer the plague chapter of Stephen King's The Stand. There, somehow I really feel the progression from the government's initial attempts to quietly contain the virus, to the desperation of martial law being declared, to total anarchy, and finally, the world ending with a whimper, as the last remaining government officials and scientists give up hope on stopping the virus. Sure, there are a lot of cheesy scenes, but The Stand just has more SOUL than Contagion and actually feels more true to life now with the current Wu Flu pandemic.