Contagion: Go See It.

SPOILER ALERTS

Watching Contagion last night was probably the most appropriate way to herald my study of viruses in my Infection and Immunity course. The film was well done and the cast gave great performances. Jude Law and Kate Winslet played my favorite characters. As always, I like to judge these types of movies by their scientific accuracy. I was relieved to see that viruses and bacteria were not mixed up at all (as I have sadly seen in many comics and movies). Terminology that was thrown around was certainly correct (glycoproteins, valence, etc.) although I would need another listen to double check for anything that didn't really match up.

What is really great about Contagion and what sets it apart from similar movies is that it portrays the epidemic from multiple points of view. Each character's story deals with a different aspect of how epidemics are dealt with and responded to and each story is tangential to the story of the other characters. I especially liked the glimpse into epidemiology (a field whose members are either hit or miss with me). I really enjoyed Kate Winselt's portrayal of a no-nonsense Epidemic Intelligence Service officer and I hated to see her go relatively early.

Biological science fiction has been uncommonly good this summer between Contagion and the surprisingly-not-disastrous Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I hope Hollywood decides to keep up this level of plausibility and good storytelling.