Contact Review
by Michael Jordan (michael_jordan AT geocities DOT com)July 14th, 1997
Contact (PG) **** (out of ****)
There's a moment late in Robert Zemeckis's Contact where I was reminded of why I started writing movie reviews in the first place. We see a scientist, dressed in a silvery space suit, walking tentatively across a narrow walkway leading inside a compact, spherical space pod, unaware of what awaits when the ball literally drops. Anticipation, excitement, anxiety, fear--the audience experiences it all the emotional tension right with the character, nervously, breathlessly eager to see what lies ahead. It is this sense of discovery, the anticipation of which and its accompanying exhilaration, that makes this adaptation of the Carl Sagan novel such magical, captivating entertainment.
Jodie Foster stars as Dr. Ellie Arroway, a brilliant astronomer who dedicates her entire life to searching outer space for extraterrestrial radio signals. And I mean life--after losing her entire family when she was young, the only thing occupying Ellie's world is this quest to discover life beyond this earth. After dealing with much skepticism on the part of government officials and wealthy financiers, Ellie receives her vindication when she stumbles upon an incoming radio transmission from the distant star Vega, which includes instructions on building an interstellar transport. From this synopsis, Contact does not sound too different to most films about alien contact, but there is a whole lot more to this intelligent film than the sci-fi hook. The alien contact angle generates a great amount of suspense and awe, but perhaps more than anything else, Contact is a character study of Ellie, whose obsession with empirical, scientific evidence has erased all belief in a higher power. The irony is that, while admitting to having no religious faith, she holds onto her belief in extraterrestrial life with such passion and conviction that it becomes, in a sense, a religion in its own right. It would be easy for scripters James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg, in trying to paint a positive image of the heroine, to champion her scientific beliefs over religious ones, but they wisely eschew easy answers, giving equal time to both sides, and in so doing depict Ellie as not completely sane. In the end, there is no right or wrong, nor is there one side that comes off more positive in the other, even slightly so--there are just two very viable points of view, each with their own merits, each with their own faults.
The complex role of Ellie is an actress's dream, and Foster, a virtual shoo-in for yet another Best Actress Oscar nomination next year, more than rises to the challenge. She conveys intelligence, determination, warmth, and, in a gutsy move, always on edge. We root for Ellie and feel for her, but we also feel at times that she goes too far. Contact is clearly Foster's vehicle, but others are given their chance to shine in smaller roles. Matthew McConaughey, who receives outrageously high billing for his smallish role, holds his own as the religious counterpoint to Ellie, spiritual scholar and government adviser Palmer Joss (however, his main storyline, the tentative Palmer-Ellie romance, is the film's weakest subplot). John Hurt is effectively creepy as S.R. Hadden, the wealthy eccentric who provides Ellie with her research funding. Angela Bassett continues to impress in her bit role as White House aide Rachel Constantine. Most memorable of all, though, are Tom Skerritt and James Woods, who play rival scientist Dr. David Drumlin and national security adviser Michael Litz, respectively; both, especially Skerritt, embody these asshole characters that the audience hissed just about every single one of their appearances.
Zemeckis comes off of his three-year break in top shape. Always known as a director of effects-laden extravaganzas, it comes as no surprise that Contact's visual effects are quite stunning. The central space journey is more than a little reminiscent of the close of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but with more advanced technology at his disposal, Zemeckis's voyage is even trippier than Stanley Kubrick's yet more wondrously pure. And Zemeckis doesn't resist the urge to use the always-interesting incorporate-actors-into-existing-film-footage effect, which is every bit as seamless here as it was in Forrest Gump. Effects, however, are confined to only a few scenes and clearly take a back seat to the drama, emotion, and pure wonder, which Zemeckis proved to be quite adept at in Gump. It says a lot that, in a summer science fiction film such as this, it's not so much the effects that stay with you as it is the drama and the issues that are raised.
The thought-provoking, two-hour-plus Contact is a much-welcome change of pace from summer no-brainers, but the fact that it is a smart film does not mean that it also isn't entertaining. For all the interesting questions it asks, the film is still what it's being sold as--"a journey to the heart of the universe." And what a fascinating, unforgettable journey it is.
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Michael Dequina
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--Michael Jordan
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