Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a grimly realistic take on the end of the world which throws the notion that the human race are masters of their own fate into sharp relief. More Andromeda Strain than Armageddon it is a disaster movie whose sobering power lies in a carefully built series of narrative threads which show a world in a sudden and terrifying decline with humanity rather than histrionics.

Soderbergh has the enjoyable habit of occasionally casting non-actors in prominent roles in his films, Gina Carano in the forthcoming Haywire, Sasha Grey in The Girlfriend Experience and so on, Contagion however has one of his Danny Ocean casting calls with a not-so-merry band of A-listers gathering to race to save the world from a particularly nasty form of mutated flu. While the director’s steady hand gives us a tightly plotted narrative and a uniquely realistic end of the world there are a number of problems with such a star-packed cast which occasionally take us out of the story and the film does suffer because of it.

Matt Damon returns to Soderbergh’s side once again and convinces as the man at the centre of the outbreak but seeks not to pave the road to the survival of humanity single-handedly, rather he looks only to save his daughter from the romantic, and possibly fatal, advances of a neighbourhood boy. Kate Winslet’s role is relatively small but pivotal and she manages to lose herself in her character, something Paltrow, Law and Cotilard cannot do. There is a very simple story being told here and the global scale is shown through a group of disparate individuals and when a thread or a character fails to convince or engage it is an unwanted interference.

What works is the world created in the midst of this outbreak. The slow response to the virus with the stoic retaliation from ordinary people keeping our feet on the ground and as the disease spreads we  have the usual subplots of burgeoning romances halted by fear of infection, the heroic doctors succumbing before their vital work is done and so on, but signifiers of the emotional fallout (paranoia leading to rage and riots, professional missteps on the road to a cure are two examples) are consequences which are given their moment on screen but don’t overwhelm.

At times it runs the risk of becoming a toneless TV docu-drama on the ‘What-If’ channel but Soderbergh’s direction elevates the film and it succeeds because of the grounded narrative rather than in spite of it. Signs that the disease is taking hold are told in a matter of fact fashion and while I could have happily lost the subplots involving Marian Cotillard’s unscheduled stop in a remote village and Jude Law’s errant blogger turned Placebo Prophet there is very little to distract from the task at hand.

Mention must be made of Jennifer Ehle, who isn’t on the big screen often enough and who here steals the show as a scientist on the hunt for a cure to save mankind. Just as her small role in The King’s Speech as Lionel Logue’s wife was given a genuine shine by her understated performance here she transcends her role with a deft touch, and in amongst the unbearable tension Soderbergh creates around her it is her final few scenes which tread cautiously around the cliche minefield to become the film’s most affecting moments.

The story is paced perfectly, with some well crafted montages showing the outbreak beginning and then taking hold with swift precision and run fingers gently along the spine rather than slap you in the face with the horror of it all. What is key here is the deliberate pace and the spark of humanity and normality which make Contagion a compelling film.

[Rating:3.5/5]