Yes, No, Maybe So: Contagion
Friday, July 15, 2011 at 4:15PM In this edition of Let's Count the Oscar Winners, err, Yes, No, Maybe So, we take a look at Steven Soderbergh's Contagion. Details of this film had been kept quite secret until this trailer was released a few days ago. I'd seen snippets from the film at a distributors event a few months ago but they highlighted star wattage over plot. So now the trailer has arrived and in a move that has some condemning Soderbergh for spoiling his own film, he pulls off a Game of Thrones seconds into the trailer (at the bottom of the post)
YES - That cast!
All of them either have Oscars or have been nominated on multiple occasions but the best part is that they're not just "movie stars", they're all incredible actors. Is this like the "serious version" of Ocean's 11? Soderbergh gets bonus points for that The Talented Mr. Ripley reunion, but where is Cate when you need her?
NO - How can Steven Soderbergh deliver such a superb trailer and threaten us with early retirement? Also, considering he has developed a tradition of delivering one artsy film followed by a fun one, which one is this? His last movie was a documentary, so does it count or should we use The Informant as reference? The director has a tendency to work with genre and this looks like it could be his take on the psychological film or the disaster movie (I smell a fun double bill with Melancholia!)
Soderbergh is also one of the most ambitious directors in contemporary history. Most of the time he gets away with whatever he wants, but given the political references spotted in this trailer this could either be brilliant or end up turning into a bland piece of meh like Blindness.
MAYBE SO - With the revelation that Gwyneth Paltrow's character dies, we have to ask ourselves, how much will this affect the rest of the film? Some people have already called this a monstrous spoiler and are pissed at the director for letting this piece of information come out.
PSA: Gwyneth Paltrow in The Perils of Gambling!
Killing one of your main stars isn't something completely new but it still sends waves of how-dare-they and where-are-we-going-now terror among audiences who want it the easy way. This revelation tells us that either her character was meaningless and there are bigger shocks to come or that Soderbergh is the kind of director you want to work with so badly that you don't care if he kills you before the movie is even released.
I for one am beyond excited to see what he has up his sleeve this time. How about you? Are you as impressed by the cast? Should Soderbergh retire yet?
Reader Comments (31)
I admit, I haven't really seen this reaction anywhere, but assuming it does exist, the "*Gasp*, SPOILER ALERT, JERKS!" thing seems kind of stupid to me. It's a pandemic movie. Of course someone's going to die. It's not like it's a romantic comedy.
Although that would be a really awesome trailer mislead. You see Matt and Gwyneth meeting cute, getting married, frolicking in meadows, and then, BOOM, she's dead. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a trailer do that? I would go see that movie just as a tribute to the trailer.
So, er, topic. Yes, I'm really looking forward to this. If it's nothing groundbreaking, I always love a smart, well-done thriller.
It looks SO dark haha. But I'll see just for the cast alone.
I'm a yes/maybe so.
The cast impressed me when it was announced (a year ago?) so nothing new there.
The trailer seems like it could be fun but this kind of movies are not my cup of tea. I don't know yet.
Gwyneth dying in the TRAILER gives the film a beautifully eerie sense that "NO ONE IS SAFE."
If she dies in the trailer, they're all dead in the movie!!! this is going to be insane!
Looks intense. Kate & Gwyneth look like the standouts. Maybe Gwyneth is supposed to be a role à la Tessa Quayle.
I have to admit, the trailer shocked me with the reveal of Paltrow's fate, but I wasn't angry. It intrigued me and made want to see the film even more! This looks great, I'm a definite YES.
I'm glad you think Marion Cotillard is an incredible actor ;) As for the trailer, it's fabulous and I'm looking forward to it.
I'm so excited about this!
For what it's worth, I heard from someone who's read the script that Gwyneth's character dies very early on, so much so that he was surprised an A-list star even took the part. It sounds like she's only in the first 15-20 minutes.
I think Soderbergh is too smart to have "spoiled" his own trailer.
Kate looks great! Looking forward to her one-two punch of CONTAGION and CARNAGE.
From the trailer, Gwyneth and Kate seem to really shine. I had the same thought about Gwyneth's role being very Tessa Quayle, she seems to be in a lot of the movie post-death.
Also, was that John Hawkes I saw for 2 seconds? Don't blink, or you'll miss him!
goop dying in the trailer is the biggest yes i could ask for
all those stars in a disaster movie - it's poseidon adventure/towering inferno for a new generation (let's hope maureen mcgovern sings the theme song)
I agree with Fig, it sort of makes me wonder if they actually will solve the pandemic. I'm sort of hoping that they can't solve it and everyone dies, since it's always seemed that Soderberg is kind of anti-hollywood (what with his 4 hour Che Biopic or his casting of a well known porn star) it seems like the sort of thing he might do.
Hell, Blindness isn't a "bland piece of meh"! I get so angry with such an undifferentiated statement. A controversial film, for sure, but bland? Seriously? I thought it was a deeply affecting, powerful, highly symbolic and stunningly photographed piece of art, one of the most underrated and undervalued movies of the last decade.
And yes, I got a Blindness vibe from that trailer as well, and I count that as a good sign.
The plot and the "it's the birds!!" dramatic moment evoke The Happening for me...let's hope it doesn't go that way.
I'm always glad to see when something goes against Hollywood formula. Like someone said, if we see Gwyneth die in the trailer, that's a sign that the plan isn't to take us on a melodramatic ride that scares us a little bit and then somebody kisses at the end, there's going to be some heavy stuff happen. So I don't consider it a "spoiler," just a taste of bigger things to come.
I read the screenplay before, if Soderbergh would be faithful to that, the actors with the best roles are Law (The most flashy role), Cotillard (The warmest role) and Damon (With the right direction he could surprise) in that order; beside Fishburne has the longest role. But I heard Winslet's role was expanded (And I glad because in the first draw it was a bland character with shorter parts).
I had the same thought about Gwyneth's role being very Tessa Quayle, she seems to be in a lot of the movie post-death.
Actually I agree with Brian. Even she's in less than 15 minutes and I took me for surprise tahn Gwyneth accepted it because, instead Rachel Weisz's Tessa Quoyle, is just a prescindible character with no big impact (Again, faithfuly to the draw) -Also, check it out the scenes of the trailers which took part in Hong Kong- That is the real scene of impact of the contagion...
Ah. I forgot... After seeing the trailer... YES
Is there any possibility of failure? yes... But even with negative results, the film won't be indifferent to the audience. It's not exactly a Hollywood formula. Also, the acting look top notch and watch out Law, Cotillard and Damon. Their characters are great and even Oscarable. Plus for Winslet with her "Carnage" campaign
Finally, a movie where Gwyneth Paltrow's death isn't a spoiler (Sorry boys, I had to say it.)
So YES. And I kid of agree with chaz. When I heard that Gwyneth was going to have the disease, I thought they were going to stretch that out and it'll be a drama that would strain Paltrow and Damon's relationship. This looks like Winslet's movie, and it's perfect for her because she can be the damsel-in-distress and the heroine at the same time. I'm just worried about the end, though.
Alex: I know, right? I mean Hawkes doesn't have the name recognition yet, but he should have been in the trailer credits too.
I had to stop watching. If there's something that deters me from a movie, is when they tell me too much about the movie. I'd be happier with a shorter teaser. I will see it... but yes, how dare they show Gwynnie dying!
I've read the script. Kate actually has a pretty small role, not much bigger than Gwyneth's. In terms of size, it goes Laurence > Damon > Cotillard > Law > Winslet > Paltrow. Cotillard gets the most to work with I think in terms of emotional depth.
Ooh, AIDS allegory with star cast. I'm in.
It's only a spoiler if they're hiding the fact that Gwyneth's character dies. I mean, it'd be a spoiler for the trailer to not reveal her death and then critics/audiences screaming "OMG SHE DIES IN THE FIRST 10 MINUTES!!" but if they're revealing it in the trailer then how is it spoiling? I mean, they're doing it themselves, yeah? Nobody is "spoiling" it, they're simply revealing it as something that happens. Ugh. People... if I were to tell them to remove anything in particular it'd be the line about "birds are doing it themselves" or whatever. Sounds silly. Especially since bird flu? Wasn't that ages ago?
Anyway, this looks like a really solid adult thriller and there just aren't enough of them these days. That cast is awesome and Soderbergh!
I hate films with so many A-listers in them. I can't help it. I can never see them as their characters, just Kate Winslet interacting with Matt Damon interacting with Gwyneth Paltrow. A few character actors go a long way for me.
I totally agree with Sara. Is this a movie or a Vanity Fair issue?
I know someone so saw a cut of this film and Gwyneth's character has a lot of screentime, albeit in flashbacks. And I've heard her performance is terrific and warm.
YES because i like this sort of movies even bad and a great casting is a big YES
YES. Soderbergh. Nuff said.
Yes...for the cast and for Soderberg.
Maybe so...because I, too, get a "Blindness" vibe from it...and I really found that film to be what I call a "Peggy Lee experience," i.e. "Is That All There Is?"
Marion Cotillard is having one of the best post-Oscar careers I can think of. Suck it, haters!
Loved the trailer. I'm a YES. Could this be a best picture contender? No one's talking about it in that manner yet.
It's funny that we just discussed Outbreak on this site a couple of weeks back - that was "the contagion" movie of the 1990's - but this looks miles better. I agree with those who said that if Gwynnie dies that just adds to the suspense because it implies no one is safe. And it's Soderburgh (I prefer to forget that the Oceans series even exists; I still have a soft spot for him on the basis of Sex, Lies and Videotape.) So - YES.
I hope Soderbergh reconsiders retirement. This trailer looks amazing. And I get the feeling that Gwyneth's character won't be the only one that dies here (of the "A-listers"), so for a movie about a virus epidemic, that reveal doesn't seem too spoilerish to me. I wonder if Soderbergh had a hand in cutting this trailer though, b/c sometimes it's all from the studios and the directors later complain about them revealing too much. Either way, another yes to the trailer here.
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