Epidemiology " Contagion"

So recently, I mentioned a new movie was coming out named Contagion. There’s been a lot of interesting buzz surrounding the movie on the internet, and several colleagues and I were excited to see a movie about Epidemiologists. So we ventured down to our local theatre to check it out.

I’ve tried to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, and I’ve tried to keep key details from being revealed. However, as with all movie reviews, if you want to be surprised by the movie, don’t read it.

Review after the jump

Contagion is set in the present day, and tracks a virus outbreak similar to the recently H1N1, SARS and avian flu outbreaks. The story basically follows two main plotlines: the government, and then the public response.

The governmental/public health agency plot follows the work of Dr Elliot Cheever (Lawrence Fishburne), Dr Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) and Dr Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle), among others. They’re tracking the disease from the CDC headquarters in Atlanta and are EIS officers (for a history of the EIS, check out my post on Alexander Langmuir). They start trying to determine what the problem is: what are the symptoms, who has it, how is it spreading, and then move into trying to develop a cure. However, they keep running into problems – the vaccine doesn’t work, and when they finally create an effective vaccine, there are shortages.

For the first part of the movie you feel their pain: you are overwhelmed and wonder if they will find a cure, or if the movie will end similar to 28 Days Later with the eradication of most of the human race and a post-apocalyptic society emerging from the rubble (think Mad Max). Their constant work, and the shocking turns the story takes show you how draining their life can be. At one point Dr Cheever asks Dr Hextall “When was the last time you ate something that didn’t come from a vending machine,” and she replies “Taco Bell.” The human cost on these people is immense, and the movie captures this very well.

“Someone doesn’t have to weaponize the bird flu. The birds are already doing that.” – Dr Elliot Cheever (Lawrence Fishburne)

The other aspect to the “governmental storyline” is the political trouble they face. Local health authorities have to protect their own interests, and do not want to cause panic and chaos unless they know the risk is real and the consequences of not acting are serious. As an audience, we are sympathetic to their plight, and frustrated with the turf war that occurs in the movie. In addition, we see the military response to the outbreak – both in terms of wondering if this could be part of a biological attack, and managing the populace (distributing rations, burying the dead). The movie doesn’t delve into this at the governmental/health authority level *too* much and simply touches on it in a few scenes to highlight the far-reaching

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