Subject: Review: Contact (1997)

From: [email-masked] (Chad Polenz)
Date: 27 Jul 1997 15:56:19 GMT

Contact
Chad'z rating: *** (out of 4 = good)
1997, PG, 150 minutes [2 hours, 30 minutes]
[science fiction/drama]
starring: Jodie Foster (Dr. Ellie Arroway), Matthew McConaughey (Palmer
Joss), Tom Skerrit (Dr. David Drumlin), James Woods (Michael Kitz), written
by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, James V. Hart, Michael Goldenberg, produced by
Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, directed by Robert Zemeckis, based on the
novel by Carl Sagan.

There's so much going for, going against, and going on in "Contact" it's
difficult to begin critiquing it, let alone describing it. It's a grand scale
Hollywood film that tries to please everyone  with its "neutral" stance on
humanity, and theology versus science. In fact, it tries so hard to be a work
of genius philosophy it nearly collapses under its own weight. What makes it
good is the breezy, easy-to-swallow storytelling, outstanding effects and
production, and a solid array of acting. 

Zemeckis's last feature, "Forrest Gump," took the world by storm with its
story of a simple man in a complex world. Here, he uses almost the exact
opposite formula for similar themes. Our main character is Dr. Ellie Arroway
(Foster), a smart astronomer who is surrounded by high technology and the
precision of science. Her parents died when she was a child, but told her
science is the language and problem-solver of the universe and she applies
this to her own life in many ways. Most thematically, she is an atheist
because she doesn't see any scientific evidence for the existence of God.
What you believe in personally is irrelevant because Ellie's character is
developed so well you understand her rationale. 

Although the entire film is not a debate over theism, its significance is
evident and often becomes so blatant you expect to see labels on every
character and their specific dialogue. Not that this is automatically a flaw,
but wrong because it tries to present itself in such a "neutral" manner. 

Representing the perspective of theism is part-time Christian
preacher/part-time secular philosopher and author Palmer Joss (McConaughey).
The two meet early on at a government SETI where Ellie is searching for
extra-terrestrial life, but Palmer is there collecting data for a book about
how technology exploits the helpless and has caused man to become so confused
spiritually. Unlike Ellie's character, we don't get to know Palmer well
enough to sympathize with his religious convictions as its obvious his
dialogue and character are being written and directed by people who probably
don't believe what he stands for. Thankfully, he is not portrayed as a
right-wing nut.

What brings these characters and their significance together is the main
plot of the story involving an intelligent transmission from space.
Basically, aliens thought we were hot and gave us their beeper number and
directions to where the party's at - cool! But here's where the film also
starts to slip in a few ways. 1) This information is made known to the public
and the entire world freaks out and everyone suddenly belongs to a group of
one extreme or another (I doubt this would happen in reality). 2) A
mysterious character suddenly appears who answers all of the mysterious
questions such as how to decode the message and the significance of every
little detail. The film had not been so "sci-fi movie convenient" before, so
why the [first of many] cop-out[s]?

Not much happens throughout the film in terms of general plot, so what we
get is a serious of several sub-plots overlapping each other. Many supporting
characters are introduced and the script works well enough to give them all
significance within the story, even though some are clearly plugged-in for
theme. 

The film also uses modern technology to create for an almost frighteningly
realistic mood. Much like "Independence Day," "Mission: Impossible," and
"Ransom," there is a sense of technological trendiness here. Use of the
Internet and laptop computers are exaggerated to create this mood, but
sometimes the movie machine takes over and we get technological conspiracies
that really aren't plausible, let alone necessary.

The entire point of the film is the end because we know Ellie will somehow
make the trip to "the other side," but is the final payoff worth it? I didn't
find it to be as powerful as it intends to be because there isn't enough
mystery to it. Everything comes together in the ultimate ending and I guess
you might say the characters, and especially their symbolism are dealt with
poetic justice. Maybe you could see it as following the film's logical
conclusion. Or maybe it's really about free will.

"Contact" is probably one of the most enigmatic films I've ever seen. Even
if the thematic elements don't do much for you, it's still interesting to
watch because the story is told through a fluid script and an atmosphere of
total modernism. 

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(C) 1997 Chad Polenz