Gwynnie expires in the first scenes of Contagion
Ferdi from Italy, reporting from Venice for TFE and, for Italian readers, longer pieces at Loud Vision.
Soderbergh remains one of the most influential and crafty American filmmakers but he has won my love only on one occasion, with Erin Brockovich (perhaps thanks to Julia Roberts). Soderbergh knows how to use star power but how all these stars agreed to make this movie is beyond reason, especially the beautiful Marion Cotillard who seems to be asking what she's even doing there, she's so out of place. (Did the stars infect each other?)
After the first few minutes you realize that this is all very serious stuff which is not always a good thing. If the movie had turned into a sort of "guess who’s going to die next?" thriller, it might have been a smart and fun, if cruel, meta cinematic exercize about killing off your stars. If you imagine a movie like Contagion without all these flashing names over the title, it would be much more realistic, poignant and affecting. Blindness, for example, was scarier and more artistically cohesive with a similar subject.
The problem with Contagion is that it tries to be a disaster movie, a thriller, a drama and a documentary; it doesn’t work as any of these genres. From an ideological point of view, too, especially when it comes to the Jude Law character, it's contradictory and stiff. Contagion plays more like a little b-movie or a television series, with a straight narrative line and a visual style that is simple, clear and very very flat. Perhaps this was just a transition project between other movies the director cares much more about. But if you’re looking for a simple message, here you are: Remember to wash your hands carefully every time you touch other people or you could spread a new mortal disease. Thanks, Steven.
Damon, Paltrow, Fishburne and Soderbergh at the Contagion Photo Op in Venice
[Editor's Note: Manolis, our other Venice correspondent had back to back to back to back screenings yesterday and was unable to write much. But I thought it would interest you to know that he called Contagion a "crowd pleaser" and found it to be "a fully satisfying thriller". So it's a split vote from our Venice team if we imagine them as Siskel & Ebert or Statler & Waldorf. Manolis did send two noteable bits from the press conference. -Nathaniel.]
At the press conference, Soderbergh said that he was happy to have a protagonist (the virus) which has no lines but everyone else in the movie talks about him. He also addressed the ongoing rumors of his retirement: he does intend to take a break from directing, but is not planning to quit entirely.
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 8:36AM 
If you've ever wanted to see Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender or Channing Tatum punched in the face repeatedly, HAYWIRE is your movie. At one time or another, the actors take quite a believable pummelling from rogue CIA agent Mallory (Gina Carano) in Steven Soderbergh's experimental action picture. Soderbergh first spotted his new muse, a real life mixed martial arts champ, while channel-surfing and was so transfixed he ended up building a feature around her. 'Why can't there be a female James Bond?' went his reasoning. He must have meant it in a loose sense for Mallory is no Bond. She's not super verbal, isn't at all comfortable at elegant black tie events, and has no discernible signature catchphrase. She orders no martinis, neither shaken nor stirred.
