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Disease on down the road

Disaster movies used to be so innocent. In the 70s, they were all about small groups of B-list actors trapped in airplanes, or upside-down cruise ships, or towering infernos. Today's disasters are much more all-encompassing. They're about astroids wiping out the planet, or global warming wiping out the planet, or a Mayan prophecy... you get the idea. But at least we get A-list actors nowadays. In fact, one of the thrills of "Contagion" - a paranoid thriller about a virus that makes the one from 1995's "Outbreak" look like a hangnail - is recognizing the famliar faces in cameo roles. I guess, when you've got Steven Soderbergh (inexplicably) at the helm, the casting sessions are a snap.

And Mr. Soderbergh seems to be working out some latent hostility because he has an awfully good time disposing of his expensive cast (what did Gwyneth Paltrow ever do to him?). The film opens with seemingly unconnected individuals in disparate global cities contracting what appear to be "flu-like symptoms". In short-order, they're convulsing on the floor before expiring completely. And that - as a helpful subtitle reminds us - is just Day 2!

The CDC, FEMA, WHO, and all sorts of other big-name acronyms spring into action - peopled by Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle and Elliott Gould. Each has moderate fun slipping into "everyday" roles. Only Jude Law seizes the opportunity to do some amusing (and very welcome) scenery chewing as a conspiracy-mongering blogger obsessed with his unique visitor tally.

If there's one story at the heart of it all, it involves Matt Damon as a father trying to keep his young daughter safe as the world devolves around him. And it does devolve. As the body count rises exponentially, Mr. Soderbergh has a bit of fun imagining how quickly people will turn on each other. Looting, violence and general fellow-neighbor ignoring abounds.

If you're waiting for a payoff in the end, you'll get one - but don't expect anything revelatory. Mr. Soderbergh hasn't lost his indie sensibilities. There are no frantic car chases or tell-tale rhesus monkeys (a la "Outbreak"). But there's plenty of paranoia and enough hazmat suits to send any germ-phobe running for the door. (Apparently, humans touch their faces 3-5 times every waking minute!).

But there's no overiding agenda here. Despite its few knowing winks to the Internet age, YouTube, Twitter and blogging, "Contagion", at its heart is a straightforward ticking-clock thriller. And it generates about all the suspense you can hope for from a movie with a faceless, microscopic antagonist. The film won't stick with you for long, but it may have you noticing how often you touch your face. You're thinking about it right now, aren't you.