Contagion

I wasn't too sure about this movie when Eric suggested watching it.  For some reason, I thought it was going to be 28 Days Later-esque, which is more of a thriller/horror film.  Instead, this is a movie that really gets you wondering if something like that could really happen.

The film follows Matt Damon and his daughter, along with several other characters as an illness, similar to the bird flu, rampages the entire globe.  Matt Damon's character is an average person, affected by the disease, Kate Winslet, Lawrence Fishburne and Marion Cotillard are health service workers, Jude Law is a popular blogger and Bryan Cranston is a military personel to list a few of the cast.  The film begins on the second day of infection and shows what happens to the general population, how scientists work to develop a vaccine, the government reacts and medical personal deal with so many people who have a contagious disease.  It's hard to believe that any government or organization could keep everything under control if something like this spread as quickly as it's portrayed in the film.



I'm not sure if any of you have seen Children of Men, but this film reminded me a lot of that.  It's seems like something that could never happen, although when you stop and actually think about it, it very well could.  We aren't protected from a global outbreak, like when scarlet fever, polio or tuberculosis spread prior to vaccinations, but I think that people don't really pay much thought to that.

If something like this doesn't freak you out too much, I would definitely recommend watching it.  It definitely got me thinking, especially as a parent.  It makes me wonder what will happen when my children or even my grandchildren are my age.  I imagine that life will be a lot different for them.