Written by Scott Z. Burns, “Contagion” features an ensemble that includes Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, and Jennifer Ehle. The film, which reunited Soderbergh with his long-time screenwriting partner Burns, was a thought-provoking and tense medical thriller that explored not only the seriousness of a worldwide epidemic but also the urgent response from the scientific community to find a vaccine. It’s an undeniably frightening movie, especially when seen today, which opens with a woman (Paltrow) on a Hong Kong business trip who has a layover in Chicago before returning home to Minneapolis, catching a mystery virus during her trip, only to have her symptoms fatally worsen and spread. The fictional pandemic showed in the film (called MEV-1), also started in Asia and is easily transmitted through touch. It’s far more lethal than Covid-19, having killed 26 million people worldwide, but it’s the way Soderbergh and Burns depict the worldwide reaction from scientists, citizens, and politicians alike that makes “Contagion” feel eerily similar to today’s situation. Hell, even “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins admitted to paying $12,99 to watch the movie recently. The acclaimed filmmaker told the NYT, “I paid $12.99 to watch a 10-year-old movie, I’ve never done that before.” Adding, “I was really curious to see how well it would line up to what is happening right now. It was shocking. It felt like I was watching a documentary that has all these movie stars playing real people.” Contribute Hire me
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