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Contagion

Last summer there was a buzz around Chicago that Steven Soderbergh was filming his latest film around the city and that it would involve a cast of notable stars: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard. Yeah, mostly Oscar winners but what piqued my interest in this film is the mention that Jennifer Ehle was also involved in it. I suppose the thought of her in a more mainstream movie was exciting. And Michael Clayton doesn't really count since her scenes with George Clooney were deleted from the movie. So I really wanted to see this film even though I had reservations as to whether it might trigger the germophobe in me.

Contagion starts on day 2 very ominously with a blank screen and just a sound of a cough. Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) is sitting at a bar at the airport eating peanuts from a bowl. She's on a lay-over in Chicago from a business trip in Hong Kong. Clearly, we recognize she's coming down with something. The next scene is a close up of what she touches, the peanut container, her drink and the credit card that she hands to the bartender who in turn punches the buttons of the register. It's a very powerful series of images that plays with your mind as an audience member and you start to become paranoid (yes, and I was eating popcorn!).

Coming home to Minneapolis to her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and their family, she goes into a seizure and is taken to the ER where she quickly dies. A model in London is also shown at a casting call then dies in her hotel room bathroom. A man on the bus in Hong Kong is shown next coughing. Then a full blown pandemic occurs with it's origins yet unknown. Dr. Ellis Cheever (Lawrence Fishburne), head of the CDC sends Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to Minneapolis to quickly assess and contain the situation. At the same time, Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) begins to try to replicate the virus to eventually try to develop a vaccine. She is assisted by Dr. Ian Sussman (Elliot Gould) who manages to grow the virus in the lab for testing. In the meantime, in Switzerland, Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) leaves for China to track the origin of the virus.

While all of these are happening, one sees the pandemonium of the pandemic. Mitch soon finds out that he is immune and now has to focus on protecting his daughter from the virus. Alan Krumweide (Jude Law) is an opportunistic blogger who further creates havoc when he suggests conspiracy theories and possible antidotes. In this world of social media and immediacy which the internet provides, people's panic are quickly amplified. It's a well observed phenomena by the scriptwriter Scott Z. Burns.

The movie is so close to reality that makes it so scary. All assumptions are very plausible. Mr. Soderbergh also seems to use handicams and natural lighting for the movie so you feel you're in it. It's unnerving. I also appreciate the fact he only decides to show day 1 at the end of the movie. I thought that was genius.

It's an ensemble movie and everyone was really great. However, I do have to mention that Jude Law as Alan Krumweide is the sleaziest character in this film. I was also SO distracted by his horrible teeth, it's so easy to disliked him. Jude Law played him so well and it's so diametrically opposed to his leading men roles. As Ally Hextall, Jennifer Ehle is so believable as a scientist that has the task of explaining the mechanism of the virus. She plays a very pivotal role that causes her to make a fearless and self-less decision in the film. She is so credible that you'd believe that Ally Hextall would really do that. I found myself asking what I would do in her situation and.........I still don't know.

Below is an interview with Jennifer Ehle talking about doing research for her role and learning to put on the level 4 suit. Incidentally, some of the CDC scenes were shot it Telllabs in Naperville (it's actually close to our satellite clinic in Naperville and at that time, we did keep an eye out for some star sightings).

The Adjustment Bureau

I love this quote: Your guardian angel continuously talks to you, and gently offers advice and guidance. It popped into my head as I watched The Adjustment Bureau, the sci-fi/action/romance film loosely based on Philip K. Dick's short story, Adjustment Team. The film posits the eternal question of how much of our lives are due to free will, and how much by predestination.

The film stars Matt Damon as David Norris, a New York politician whose life is changed by a (seemingly) chance encounter with Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), a dancer. Mysterious Bureau men intervene when things don't go according to someone or Someone's higher plan. The leads have great chemistry, and one can really root for them to end up together despite the adjusters' efforts to keep them apart.

The movie boasts a strong supporting cast: Michael Kelly as Charlie Traynor (David's campaign manager and friend), Anthony Mackie and John Slattery as members of the Bureau, and Terence Stamp. More love story than fantasy, it does have a terrific chase scene involving many doors, and made possible by stylish fedora hats. It does leave one with plenty of thought-provoking questions about the nature of existence, Fate, and God.

(photo from Slashfilm)

Hereafter

If you're a regular Stagenotes reader, you will know that I have become a certified Clint Eastwood fan. After Invictus, I wanted to see the latest Eastwood-Matt Damon film Hereafter, especially since it deals with the afterlife.

The film starts with a jolt: the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Vacationing journalist Marie LeLay's (Cecile de France) brush with death inevitably changes her life when she returns home to France. Across the Channel, we meet twin brothers Marcus and Jason (George and Frankie McLaren) whose special bond is ended by a totally senseless accident. Grief-stricken, the surviving twin sets off on a path to discover if there is life after death.

Across the pond, George Lonegan (Mr. Damon)---yes, he sees dead people---has given up doing readings and struggles to live a normal life in San Francisco. He even attends an Italian cooking class at night, where he meets Melanie ( a grating Bryce Dallas Howard). Meanwhile, his enterprising brother Billy (Jay Mohr) tries to convince him to return to working as a psychic, failing to see that his sibling's ability is "not a gift, but a curse".

All 3 main characters find their lives intersecting, a little too neatly, in the end. But the writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and director take their time getting there. This is not a film for everyone. A few people walked out of the theater. The man sitting beside me kept complaining to his wife. But I thought a film about death and dying, and what's beyond, is inherently meditative. The characters have all become seekers, and we the audience members are on board for the journey. The whole time I was sitting there, the word "contemplative" kept popping up in my mind. Even Mr. Eastwood's music score seemed introspective. The filmmakers offered no real answers to the question of whether there is or isn't life after death. But they did leave room for hope.

W's Massive Deception

Based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran's non-fiction book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, director Paul Greengrass has made a chaotic, thrilling action movie with political undertones. Using hand-held cameras to give it a documentary feel, we are again part of the action for a pulse-pounding, nail-biting movie-going experience. Not quite recent Oscar Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker, but it's still good, thought-provoking fun.

Green Zone is set during the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Army Chief Roy Miller (Matt Damon--and no, it is not Jason Bourne version 3.0) becomes increasingly frustrated as his team fails to find any weapons of mass destruction(WMD). He begins to question the intelligence information that led his government to invade and occupy the troubled nation. Amy Ryan plays Lawrie Dayne, a journalist who naively perpetuates government fabrications fed to her by a smug Pentagon officer Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear). Brendan Gleeson is Martin Brown, CIA Middle East expert, who knows the intel is false. His suggestions on how the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) should rebuild and run Iraq are also roundly dismissed by the Bushies. See if you can recognize Jason Isaacs as part of the Special Forces.

My favorite character however, is Freddy, an Iraqi who comes to the Americans with information and becomes embroiled in Miller's obsessive search for the truth. The Kite Runner's Khalid Abdalla admirably plays the honorable patriot who only wants what's best for his country. He represents the innocent, nameless, faceless Iraqis who undeservedly get demonized by the rest of the world.

It is the 7th anniversary of the Iraq War, and I disagree with some people's contention that the film is irrelevant since we've said goodbye to Dubya. Yes, Iraq again recently held elections, and that is a small victory. U.S. troops however continue to perish in a war predicated on lies. Former members of the Bush administration are coming out of the woodwork, doing interviews or writing books defending the decision to go to war. They are just as clueless as those who were sheltered in Baghdad's Green Zone. One lasting and jolting image from the film is when Miller's team goes to Saddam Hussein's former palace where the CPA is headquartered. We see people at the poolside, drinking beer and carrying on while elsewhere in the country, people have no food, water or electricity. Is it any wonder that Americans get such a bad rap? I love the bumper sticker that says, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." This movie will definitely raise one's hackles.

(photo from Impawards)

The Best Damn Sports Movie Period

What does one do to alleviate Olympic coverage withdrawal symptoms? Watch Clint Eastwood's latest masterpiece, Invictus of course. In an era of philandering athletes, skyrocketing salaries, inflated egos, I love the Olympics because it is all about the sport and the honor of representing one's country in front of a global audience. The film about South Africa's stunning World Cup debut in 1995 is about that, and much more.

After the nation's first multi-racial democratic elections, President Nelson Mandela (played by the incomparable Morgan Freeman) has the herculean task of healing deep divisions in his post-apartheid country. Seen as a continuing symbol of government sanctioned racism, the national rugby team---the Springboks--- is reviled by the black populace. The newly elected leader extends his message of reconciliation and forgiveness to sports, and encourages his people to support the team. We see how the Nobel Prize laureate's morality and strength of character galvanizes team captain Francois Pienaar (the increasingly adroit Matt Damon). The movie's title comes from Mr. Mandela's favorite poem that sustained him during his 27 years of imprisonment, and he shares it with the embattled sportsman.

I want to see a full length biography of Mr. Mandela as we see only glimpses of his personal struggles and inspiring life. The visit to the prison cell evoked memories of fallen Philippine opposition leader Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino. The trials and tribulations of South Africa's first black president also draws comparisons to Barack Obama's dilemma of "balancing black aspirations and white fears". Athletic competitions and the movies about them always deliver uplifting messages and emotional highs, but this film goes beyond that. The stakes were higher. On the line: unity and nation-building.

The Evils of Free Enterprise

Having seen Capitalism: A Love Story last week, The Informant! was an appropriate follow-up. First: Michael Moore is a polarizing figure; you hate him or you love him. I happen to like his work. And the rest of my fellow audience members did too, indicated by the applause at the end of the movie. He has tackled big business, the Bush presidency, guns and healthcare. It was only a matter of time before Mr. Moore indicted America's economic system and corporate greed. For all his theatrics like trying to get our money back from Wall Street or making a citizen's arrest of CEOs, his movies are always strongest and the most touching when he's showing stories of real people, real Americans. The documentarian remains such a provocateur that I wanted a torch and pitchfork after watching his latest work. One good thing: after the movie's release, lawmakers are now looking into the "dead peasants insurance". Did you know some companies take out insurance policies without their employees' knowledge, naming themselves as beneficiaries so they can collect the money when the workers pass away? Click here to see if your company may be one of them.

Now if you haven't had your fill of anti-capitalism, how about Matt Damon as whistleblower Mark Whitacre in Steven Soderbergh's The Informant!? As a young bioproducts division president, he became FBI's inside man in its 1990s investigation of agri-business giant ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) for price-fixing. Scott Bakula and Joel McHale play the FBI agents Brian Shepard and Bob Herndon. If like me, you don't know anything about the case, then the movie will be a pleasant surprise. It is an intriguing, exasperating look at the life of a corporate mole. The voice-overs initially are funny until we find out more about the man. Marvin Hamlisch's brilliant score feels off-kilter yet somehow appropriate to what's unfolding onscreen. Mr. Soderbergh maintains a mostly whimsical feel to the film, almost flippant, despite Mr. Whitacre's deepening crises. Matt Damon is at his best. There's too much talk about his piling on the pounds to play this character, but not enough about what a talented actor he really is. He is, by turns, frustrating, funny, tragic, campy, but ultimately pitiable. This was a great, confusing, and thought-provoking movie. You can almost palpably tell George Clooney was involved in it.


(photos from here)

Spy vs. Spy

Ever opened a book, started reading and couldn't stop? Just one more chapter and before you know it, it's morning. I used to devour Robert Ludlum novels when I was young. They inspired my wanderlust and interest in the Cold War and conspiracy theories. The books were movie-ready. I watched the Jason Bourne TV movies with Richard Chamberlain as the CIA agent. Since "The Bourne Supremacy" and "United 93", Paul Greengrass has become one of my favorite directors. In this age of CGI, the Bourne film franchise stands out for its nail-biting, edge of your seat action sequences as well as the intelligent scripts. "The Bourne Ultimatum" drops you right in the middle of the action from the get-go. Tightly edited, it features an amazing rooftop footrace in Morocco, a silent and brilliantly choreographed fight scene where you just hear the blows landings, a cat and mouse game through Waterloo Station, a thrilling New York City car chase. Of course there are the requisite scenes of CIA agents pacing up and down with arms crossed, looking into their computers and barking orders. After my fill of summer blockbusters with a young demographic, I was amused to see plenty of senior citizens in the theatre with me. Definitely a sign that this is an action thriller for adults. I must admit I was surprised when Matt Damon was cast as our protagonist, but he has brought the right blend of ruthlessness and vulnerability to the über-assassin. It seems he was "bourne" to play the part ;)