Steve Jobs

Contagion

Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

2011. Rated PG-13, 106 minutes.
Cast:
Laurence Fishburne
Kate Winslet
Matt Damon
Jude Law
Gwyneth Paltrow
Marion Cotillard
Sanaa Lathan
Anna Jacoby-Heron
John Hawkes
Stef Tovar
Grace Rex
Bryan Cranston

Elizabeth (Paltrow) returns home from a business trip to China feeling a bit under the weather. She gets worse over the next few days until she has an apparent seizure and dies. By the way, she infects her six year old son with the same mysterious ailment and he suffers the same fate. Miraculously, her husband Mitch (Damon) deosn’t get sick. Yes, this is explained. Very quickly we find out Elizabeth is one of many such cases occurring around the globe at a rapidly increasing rate. The Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization spring into action in hopes of creating a vaccine before much to the world’s population is wiped out.

A large part of the movie’s magic is derived from the combination of writing and acting. The dialogue is often clinical, filled with enough medical jargon to make your eyes glaze over. However, the cast still manages to convey both passion and compassion. This comes through most in the performance of Kate Winslet as Dr. Mears. Her character isn’t someone most of us want to hang out with. She’s pragmatic, aloof and occasionally blunt. On the other hand, we can tell that her caring runs deep. Though she may be the uncompromising face of some far away medical group to the other characters, we never see her that way. There’s also an angst-ridden portrayal by Matt Damon and a conflicted turn by Laurence Fishburne. All handle their roles quite well.

The dire tone and unsettling score add mightily to the proceedings. Along with most of the characters, the world itself seems to dread what the next day may bring. This aspect is enhanced by the trusty counter that pops up every now and again to tell us how many days we’re into this situation. By the way, we start on “Day 2,” which happens right before Thanksgiving. Talk about ruining the holidays.

Many so-called horror movies delight and/or disturb us with various methods of mutilating the human body. Others try to scare us with ghosts, goblins and other things that go bump in the night. Contagion does neither. In fact, it will never be found if you click the link to horror movies the next time you’re on Net Flix. However, that’s precisely what it is. And a darned good one. The secret to the frights it gives is we can envision it really happening. At various points in the not-so-distant past many thought the events depicted here were already happening. This is a movie that plays into our collective germophobia, using it to draw us to the edge of our seats.

Revolutionary Road

Directed by Sam Mendes.
2008. Rated R, 118 minutes.
Cast:
Kate Winslet
Leonardo DiCaprio
Kathy Bates
Michael Shannon
David Harbour
Dylan Baker
Richard Easton
Zoe Kazan

Plot: Frank (Di Caprio) and April Wheeler (Winslet) are an unhappy couple. They suddenly decide and start planning a move to Paris in hopes of chasing their dreams and rekindling the flames of their marriage.

The Good: First and foremost, both Winslet and Di Caprio turn in powerhouse performances. They are two of the very best in the business and they do not disappoint, here. To support them, director Sam Mendes surrounds them with an excellent cast and does a masterful job telling the story. The standout among the supporting players is Michael Shannon as the supposedly mentally ill John. I say supposedly because he seems less crazy than he does simply lacking a filter between his brain and mouth. As far as telling the story, Mendes carefully weaves a tapestry of issues until they seem almost singular and explode simultaneously.

The Bad: The focus on our main couple is so strict, other potentially interesting elements are brushed aside. In particular, the Wheeler’s neighbors are profoundly affected by what’s going on. However, given a certain event there could be much more shown. They certainly could’ve had some explosive moments of their own. Also, the Wheeler children are conveniently ushered off stage and easily spared the drama. It feels as if they’re not at all aware of what’s going on in their home, much less bothered by it. As a father, I can tell you it’s just too tidy an area of such a messy relationship.

The Ugly: The reason there is blood on the carpet.

Recommendation: This is a tough drama with three brilliant performances. It not only depicts a crumbling marriage, it raises questions. Though it clearly comes out on one side over the other, the pro-life/pro-choice debate eventually comes to fuel the movie and leaves us something to chew on.

The Opposite View: Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

What the Internet Says: 7.6/10 on imdb.com (5/23/10), 68% on rottentomatoes.com, 69/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 8/10

The Reader

The Reader
2008. Rated R, 124 minutes.
Director: Stephen Daldry.
Starring Kate Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes, Lena Olin, Jeannette Hain.

Plot: In 1958 Germany, 15 year old Michael has an affair with 30-something Hanna which has a profound effect on both of their lives. At her request, they develop the habit of Michael reading aloud to her before sex. A few years later, they cross paths again. This time, her past comes to light causing Michael much stress.

The Good: You can't begin to discuss this movie without mentioning the performances. Kate Winslet proves she is one of the very best actresses of her era, once again turning in stellar work and earning her first Oscar (Best Actress) in the process. She deftly portrays Hanna as a woman with both a horrendous past and an embarrassing inability. To his credit, director Stephen Daldry handles both well. He reveals her past in a painful instant and hints at her inability but doesn't fully divulge it until it becomes relevant to the story. Now, back to that acting. The unsung hero of the cast is David Kross as the younger version of Michael. Watching him grow from a wide-eyed teen to a jilted lover and then a torn man is a joy. His work renders Ralph Fiennes, who plays the older Michael, little more than a placeholder. Finally, even though its unabashedly a tragic romance, it never resorts to the histrionics of melodrama. This makes the characters feel as if they're people reacting to real situations instead of performers going for their big moment.

The Bad: Two aspects of the movie that could've elevated it are left largely underdeveloped. First, there's young Michael's relationship with his family. It's introduced and peeked at, promises to add an interesting layer but is abandoned abruptly. Second, older Michael's relationship with his daughter needed to be either greatly expanded to build upon the parallellability of his with Hanna or cut out completely. As is, it just seems like a superfluous epilogue.

The Ugly: Young Michael's family dinners - talk about tense.

Recommendation: This is a very good movie but seems to have gotten its Best Picture nom on the strength of it's performances and the fact that it deals with one of the Academy's favorite subjects, the Holocaust. That said, its still a solid drama telling an intriguing story, just not one of my five faves of the year. Prudes beware, Winslet and Kross spend much of the first half of the movie naked.

The Opposite View: Julie Rigg, Movie Time - ABC National Radio

What the Internet Says: 7.7/10 on imdb.com (6/8/09), 62% on rottentomatoes.com, 58/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7.5/10