Subject: Retrospective: Contact (1997)

From: James Sanford <[email-masked]>
Date: 12 May 2000 22:14:28 GMT

``Contact'' is certain to inspire dozens of questions, but one
immediately springs to mind: Why can't director Robert Zemeckis
release a film every July? His mid-summer movies have long been a
welcome vacation from what's traditionally the season of
brainlessness. Five years ago this month his deliciously bitter
``Death Becomes Her'' debuted, and in 1994 his ``Forrest Gump'' turned
a worthless book into a Best Picture winner.
          Both of those films relied heavily on gimmicks: In
``Death,'' Oscar-winning special-effects put a gaping hole through
Goldie Hawn, while ``Gump'' employed computer imagery to put Tom Hanks
at the scene of practically every major event in recent American
history except the Moon landing. Despite its otherworldly set-up,
``Contact'' looks unflashy by comparison.
          Somewhat freely adapted from astronomer Carl Sagan's best
seller, the film uses the search for intelligent extraterrestial life
as the springboard for a thought-provoking exploration of the age-old
conflict of religion versus science, and faith vs. physical evidence.
          On one side is radio astronomer Ellie Arroway (Jodie
Foster), who's spent years listening to space static, waiting for some
sort of signal to emerge.  Her obsessiveness has made her something of
a laughingstock: Even her boss asks her if she's ``still waiting for
E.T to call.''
          Representing the other side of the argument is Palmer Joss
(Matthew McConaughey), referred to in some circles as ``God's
diplomat'' and a high-level spiritual leader who advises even the
president. In a move unusual for Hollywood, Joss is not written as a
holier-than-thou hypocrite or a God-fearing bumpkin, but as a
science-savvy intellectual who knows how to argue. A creepy zealot,
who's a dead ringer for '70s rocker Edgar Winter, represents the more
extreme end of the spectrum.
          The build-up of the film is exceptionally well written, as
``Contact'' gives us two attractive adults who actually discuss issues
and concepts instead of trading coy double entendres.
          Even potential cliches such as the paranoid national
security adviser (a taut James Woods) and a billionaire recluse
(played as a sly enigma by John Hurt) take on some resonance, thanks
to the stylishness of the script.
          Though she initially seems a none-too-balanced flake, Ellie
evolves into a brave woman, desperate to bridge the galactic gap, and
Foster is just about without peer when it comes to portraying earthy
idealists.
          McConaughey, in a part that's smaller than his billing would
indicate, invests Palmer with charm and a certain degree of
credibility. There's an intriguing friction between Palmer and Ellie
that both McConaughey and Foster are obviously in tune with, and they
make philosophical debate seem mighty sexy.
          Despite the best cinematic lightshow since ``2001: A Space
Odyssey,'' the crucial encounter proves to be dramatically
unfulfilling, the only part of the picture that doesn't deliver. But
screenwriters James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg rebound with a
crowd-pleasing final twist perfectly suited to the movie's generally
understated tone.

James Sanford