Almost There: Jodie Foster in "Contact"
Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 1:30PM 
This past weekend, Jodie Foster threw a wrench into the Best Supporting Actress race, surprising pundits when she won the Golden Globe for The Mauritanian. Maybe we shouldn't have been so shocked; The Academy hasn't acknowledged Foster since her 1994 nomination for Nell, but the HFPA never stopped loving her (8 nominations, 3 wins, 1 lifetime achievement). Three years after her last Oscar nomination, she was back on the hunt for a Golden Globe. The movie was Robert Zemeckis' Contact and the role was one of the most challenging in the actress' long career…
Adapted from a novel by Carl Sagan, Contact is one of the strangest sci-fi tentpoles Hollywood has ever produced. Rather than being about the excitement of adventuring into new worlds, the story tackles the perceived incompatibility between scientific and religious thought. it does this by putting forward a situation that's beyond our understanding of the universe, of reality itself. It centers all these philosophical inquiries on the trials and tribulations of Dr. Eleanor 'Ellie' Arroway, who spends her days searching for radio evidence of extraterrestrial life. One day, after years of research, a signal appears, catapulting the scientist into a journey that might take her to another planet, another dimension even.
How do you perform curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge? How do you make thinking and looking at screens into a riveting drama? In the role of Ellie, Jodie Foster must externalize intrinsically internal phenomenon, articulating her character's ineffable thoughts while not making her into an insular cipher, so cerebral she's unintelligible for the viewer. The actress does this with aplomb, adding sufficient specificities to illuminate Ellie's personality, how she exists in the world, how she relates to the vexing mundanity of governmental pressure, and the incomprehensible wonder of alien communication.
This might be a film of monumental ideas, but all of its concepts are tethered to a character study. As she travels beyond the limits of human reach, we're right alongside Ellie, prescient of what goes on inside her heart, her head. In Foster's own words, she saw the character as a prodigy, someone who's entirely on her own and falling in love with the universe, alienated from those around her because of a necessity to find the truth. She's chronically alone, isolated, afraid of intimacy. All of these elements influence Foster's negotiation of tone throughout the film and how she maps out Ellie's character arc.
Awkward more often than not, Ellie's brash and blunt, unable to hide her feelings. This transparency makes her a rather inept player in the political sphere, but a great movie protagonist. We get to see how much her powerlessness annoys and frustrates, precipitating anger. Indeed, her swallowed-down wrath is as incandescent as her love affair with the heavens. However, there's a shadow of sadness undercutting every instance of fury, old grief from childhood traumas, and a lifetime of broken dreams. As she argues for her ideas, one may find her rhetoric flustered, but what I see is the notes of sorrow that Foster employs to modulate the text. This is greatly apparent when we see the contrast, when Ellie's in her element, relaxed, happy.
She lights up when talking about her passionate research. For an instant, all frustrations disappear and it's just her and the stars, memories flashing by her eyes, a relaxed smile melting the ever-present frustration. The nebula of ancient guilt dissipates as if she can finally breathe after spending most of her day gasping for breath. More than a romantic spark, that's also what makes Ellie's dynamic with Matthew McConaughey's man of faith into such an interesting thing to observe. With him, she becomes looser, she can breathe. Despite or maybe because of this, Foster regards the other actor as a particularly difficult puzzle. One senses the will to solve him, not out of lust but curiosity. Such odd choices make the subplot work even as it threatens to derail the whole enterprise.
Contact is a long movie and Jodie Foster's work is appropriately epic-sized. She takes Ellie through such strange situations and radical reckonings that we can spend hours examining every detail. Notice, for example, how, unlike Foster, Ellie isn't used to be in front of cameras. Her discomfort is palpable when she's asked to speak in public before a wall of journalists. One of the niftiest aspects of the characterization is how each of her public appearances reveals growth, while never being at ease. Anyway, all that mundanity aside, we can probably all agree that it's when Ellie gets inside a contraption that will take her to another world that Foster shines, bright as a supernova. She begins the voyage stoic, but as the mechanisms vibrate around her, panic threatens to emerge.
As she insists she's okay to go, her mantra goes from an adventurer's determination to a desperate cry, the last hold on her sanity, her strength. The voice loses its bullish intensity and gradually becomes tender, a child's plea. And then, the seemingly impossible happens, Ellie's voyage takes her to the unknown. It's strange how emotionally overwhelming it is. Some may find Foster's capitulation to sentimentality cheesy, even laughable, but I find it beautiful. Ellie may not be able to express the miracle she's witnessing, but Foster can. Even as words escape the character, the performer telegraphs every ounce of amazement with her voice, her gob-smacked expression.
For those who haven't watched Contact, I don't wish to spoil the details of what happens at its climax. However, let me leave you with the assuredness that what Foster does is tremendous, a storm of reasoning and grief crashing over the scientist. She cries, interrogates, and sees what exists far from our little corner of the Universe.
Apologies if these are the words of a crazy man, one intoxicated by admiration towards this performer and this oddest of sci-fi extravaganzas. Regardless, I find it hard to watch Foster's big testimony scene at the end, after the voyage, without wanting to stand up and applaud. I'm an atheist but do consider myself interested in spiritual matters, fascinated by faith, and someone who has often yearned for it or the understanding of its role in life. Watching Foster's plea for the belief in what cannot be proven, I feel like I understand. There's no greater compliment I can pay to a performer. For an awe-inspiring moment, I believed, not in God, but the possibility of the impossible. I sound silly, but trust that I'm being sincere.
In the 1997 awards season, Jodie Foster conquered a Golden Globe nomination for her work in Contact. Furthermore, the actress won the Saturn prize as well as a couple of critics' honors. Unfortunately, when Oscar nomination morning came around, Contact was mostly ignored, even in Visual Effects, and was only recognized by the Academy's sound branch. AMPAS' chosen five in the Best Actress category were Helena Bonham Carter in The Wings of the Dove, Julie Christie in Afterglow, Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown, Kate Winslet in Titanic and, the winner, Helen Hunt in As Good as It Gets. Pam Grier for Jackie Brown was probably ahead of Foster in the final voting, but both thespians were certainly in the running. Christie's surprise nod was probably to blame for neither Foster nor Grier getting their deserved recognition.
I dedicate this write-up to the great Katerina Petrova Zamolodchikova, but you can call her Katya. The drag superstar has sung the praises of this flick more than probably any other human being, just one of the many reasons why I'm a fan of hers. If you haven't watched Contact yet, follow Katya's adoration and go experience its wonders right away. You can find the movie streaming on Hoopla, or you can rent it.
Reader Comments (30)
Love that she won a "Saturn" for this.
She's really good here. I'm not Jodie a Foster fan, but she gives a perfect sci-fi performance that truly brings out the depth of the story and its ideas. I also think the hearing scene is peak-90s movie perfection.
However, I do love Julie Christie in Afterglow. And, it's hard to see any of the other ladies being pushed out given the race that year. But, I'd put Foster in over Winslet.
Also, I love this series. But Julie Christie has me thinking that it would be great fun to have a "barely there" mini-series of folks, like Christie, Cotillard in 2014, or Marcia Gay Harden both time, who made it in without much precursor support. Those are usually really fascinating performances.
This is one of Foster's greatest roles. I've only seen Contact once, back in 1997, but I clearly remember the feeling of being transported to another dimension as if Foster, with her acting, was taking my hand and bringing me with her in that incredible journey. Amy Adams in Arrival reminded me of Foster in Contact. Such a shame neither was nominated. Together with Weaver in Alien, these two are my female favourite sci-fi performances.
Enough Jodie Foster for fucks safe.
I love Contact. I'd rather give the Oscar to Jodie Foster for Contact (or Pam Grier in Jackie Brown, for that matter), than three of the actual nominees. And I think the nominees are pretty good!
Academy members, confused by their resemblance, voted for Helen Hunt believing she was Jodie Foster.
Up there in my top three performances (Lambs, Nell, and Contact) by Foster. She's so great here.
Agreed with the Arrival comparison, would make for a good double feature.
I second the interest in a "Barely There" column! Some great performances that received Oscar recognition despite no precursors.
Fantastic read,Love Foster in this so worthy of a nomination and the great undervalued Jena Malone as her younger self and John Hurt's bizarre cameo,this was the start of Angela Bassett turned into an imperious supporting player in a killer suit.
Jodie Foster in so good in Contact and Zemeckis gave her a very beautiful role. I love also the movie. I agree Foster or Greer would have made 1997 Best Actress line-up much more interesting
Yes! I remember how close Jodie Foster was in 1997. Here is the NY Times from November 28 of that year:
Judi Dench, the star of ''Mrs. Brown,'' seems a near-certain nominee. Others, though, are less certain. These include Helena Bonham Carter (''The Wings of the Dove''), Joan Allen (''The Ice Storm''), Kate Winslett (''Titanic''), Julie Christie (''Afterglow'') and Jodie Foster (''Contact'').
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/28/movies/at-the-movies-oscar-in-the-air-not-in-the-mail.html
Helen Hunt really upended everyone's expectations that year, with a combination of theories ("which of these is not like the others," being in a commercial comedic hit, endearing herself as a known quantity on a successful TV series, Nicholson adjacency, the sympathetic weepiness of a James L. Brooks vehicle) breaking her through the earlier conventional wisdom. I think that when she was the only American among the nominees, giving such an uninhibited performance, Hunt was pretty much undeniable. But you could fill a whole category with those who didn't make the cut. Hunt did shout out Joan Allen (maybe she was going alphabetically?), but could have easily included Pam Grier (whose lack of nod is particularly sad given that it is the closest she ever got and probably will ever get) and Jodie Foster, who should have been still riding high after a phenomenal decade of work.
Sci-fi performances hardly get considered, but, when they do, they are infused with heart (see Spacek, Dillon, Burstyn, Bridges, Ameche, and Weaver up until that point). Foster did than in full in Contact and really made audiences care about Ellie. Especially considering that it was Zemeckis' follow up to Forrest Gump, I feel like expectations were high that Foster could pull it off again. But in the art house era of the late 90s, it wasn't enough to stay ahead of Hunt and the British invasion of the category that year.
She is wonderful. She plays intellectual prowess like nobody else. Her best roles and performances are about getting knowledge, learning something. She should have won her second Oscar for this (Sigourney Weaver should have won in the Accused year).
I watched this film last year, I didn't like it , the script is too pretentious, it is at least 30 minutes too long, Foster is just OK, nothing special.
I prefer Pam Greir (Jackie Brown or the ladies from The ice storm (Weaver and Allen).
As bad as Interstellar.
For some reason I resisted this movie for years because the trailers looked lame, and when I finally saw it I just loved it. The whole sequence ****SPOILER ALERT?!?!**** with her father was just heartbreaking. I'm a sucker for metaphysical space movies like Another Earth, Ad Astra, Midnight Sky, etc.
^^ forgot interstellar! also great
Contact is one of the best sci-fi movies of all time!
It has this rare emotional brilliance (just like Arrival) which a lot of sci-fi movies desperately try to achieve but fail (Ad Astra, Memento, The Martian)
Her voyage scenes are just incredible. And so memorable.
This is my favourite Jodi Foster performance. The character is fully rounded, very expressive and enviously passionate - you dream of going through her journey.
If we're talking 97, I only care about Pam Grier. Such a painful snub. One of those perfect combos of star and role, in Tarantino's most underrated. She was among the SAG nominees (six of them) so I'm sure she was close to an Oscar nod.
Outside of her, I like to entertain a world where Jennifer Lopez got close to an Oscar nod with Selena. lolll
I do need to see Contact though. Mostly bc of Katya. If you know, you know.
I would say this movie is okay, not great. Jodie is competent as a very earnest character. The only things I remember are the awkward love scene, her using the word impactful, and the trippy part of her space adventure.
Memento is a sci-fi movie?
Ugh.... *VOMITS* That film was fucking horrible. The climax was a fucking let-down.
The beginning of the movie was filmed here in Puerto Rico, at the Arecibo Observatory. Regrettably the telescope collapsed earlier this year due to Hurricane Maria and several earthquakes in this area.
Love this smart sci-fi drama and yes she is great in it
I love this movie. I watch it when ever it's on TV.
I'm just glad she didn't do Hannibal. What a sad entry for your new series Victory Lap: Oscar-winning roles reprised, that would be!
claudio, terrific impassioned article. jodie's work in this is, indeed, spectacular. it is exactly her ability to externalize internal experiences that make her so special. the sheer awe and joy she finds here is so inspiring and beautiful.
Fantastic performance in a fantastic movie.
And thank you for mentioning Katya! As I was starting the article, I was wondering if you would haha
I have to admit I didn’t ‘get’ Jodie Foster until I watched this earlier in lockdown. I was doing a space lady marathon with Arrival, Proxima and Interstellar, and loved it. The science vs religion conversations may have been both a bit much and a bit simplistic? But the depiction of curiosity and belief in the beauty of the universe and its possibilities was gorgeous.
Thanks for such a beautiful write up.
Either Jodie Foster, Pam Grier in 'Jackie Brown' or Julia Roberts in 'My best friend's wedding' would have been a better nominee that year than Kate Winslet in 'Titanic'.
I liked this picture very much, especially the climax when Ellie said about how they should have sent a poet because she's unable to put her experience into words. Touching stuff.
I was also surprised how well Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaghuey pair up, they had a legitimate chemistry. I guess if he got "Titanic", he wouldn't have been in this movie.