One of the most talked about movies of 2011 is Contagion. Contagion is a recently released American thriller film which takes place in a city that is surrounded by a deadly disease and portrays how a band of doctors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization struggle to deal with the rising threat. The movie is directed by the renowned Oscar-winning film director Steven Soderbergh who has also directed numerous box office breakers such as Erin Brokovich, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, and many more. He received an Academy Award for Best Director for his 2000 film, Traffic.
The movie Contagion is expected to gain success, both in the US and worldwide. It features notable actors and actresses such as Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Ehle. The star-studded cast alone encourages movie enthusiasts to visit cinemas all over the world and watch the film.
In a nutshell, the story takes place mostly in Minneapolis that is hit by a contagious disease brought by a woman named Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) who has just come back to her home in Minneapolis after a brief business trip to Hong Kong. Immediately after her return, Beth is rushed to a local hospital and she dies shortly after her treatment, leaving behind her husband Mitch Emhoff (played by Matt Damon) and her stepson. Not long after her death, 32 people including her stepson die from an unknown disease which has symptoms similar to the disease that Beth suffered from.
As the contagion spreads, the officials of the city of Minneapolis discuss possible solutions, airports are closed down, and national security guards are assigned to protect the city. Meanwhile, a team of CDC and WHO doctors (portrayed by Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, and Marion Cotillard) tries their best to combat the contagion by finding a cure before the entire city is wiped out by the disease.
Contagion was released in the United States, Canada, Italy, and five other countries on September 9, 2011, but it was premiered at the 68th Venice Film Festival on last September 3, 2011. One day before the world premiere, Warner Bros. held advanced screenings in 550 theaters across the United States. After spending a total of $60 million on the production budget, Warner Bros. is confident that the movie become a Box Office success.
