Contagion (2011)

Author: Nathanael Molnár, originally published [4/14/2020]

I know for many people, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a time to revisit a lot of films about similar situations. Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a fan-favorite, as are some of the more science fiction angled movies like 28 Days Later or World War Z. I recently watched the 1995 Wolfgang Peterson-directed movie, Outbreak for the first time, which is currently available on Netflix.

The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., and (regrettably) Kevin Spacey. The story follows a group of doctors trying to find the host of a rapidly spreading disease that could wipe out the entire world’s population in a matter of hours.

Watching Outbreak in the context of today’s current conditions was rather interesting. Moviegoers seeing this in theaters in 1995 may have had a far different experience, be it better or worse. Perhaps they thought the extent to which things are pushed in the film were extreme or unrealistic. However, the situations presented in the film aren’t entirely inconceivable.

Mass military occupation, killing people trying to escape quarantine, and bombing infected areas, is not a stretch. Not necessarily in the sense that this could be a response to COVID-19. Rather, considering our reaction to something like COVID-19, this very easily could be our response to something far deadlier. The film’s Motaba virus kills far more people at a far quicker rate. Considering how COVID-19 has been handled (or mishandled), it makes one wonder what would happen to the world if something on the scale of Motaba broke out; it actually makes Outbreak look rather optimistic.

(Note: This article was originally published by Mick Cohen-Carroll on Medium in March 2020. For current information on COVID-19, consult credible sources like the CDC and check your state's website for updates about the status of the pandemic in your area.)

It seems like pandemic movies and documentaries are being re-watched in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Maybe we're trying to understand more about the predicament we find ourselves in, in the shape of informational documentaries… or maybe it’s some sort of self-flagellating, “I-want-to-heighten-my-fears-about-diseases” kind of way. This week, an older movie has been on people’s minds: Contagion. Though it was released nearly 10 years ago, the movie has regained popularity lately, especially these past few days because of the news regarding the medical consultant for the film, Dr. Ian Lipkin (the director of Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity). He has tested positive for the coronavirus.

It also came back into the limelight because the actress who played “patient zero” in Contagion (Gwyneth Paltrow) has been vocal on social media, claiming that she’s “been in this movie before.”

The movie toes the line between Hollywood thriller and scientific cautionary tale, but we can try to learn from the situations put forth in Contagion and not end up in the same tumult and chaos that this film’s third act depicts. The most chilling moment is the final shot, where we see just how quickly a virus can spread. It starts on a farm and works its way to a restaurant where the chef shakes hands with a customer. While the movie ends on an ominous note, the current pandemic can have a lesser effect if we take lessons from the movie.