Contact
An astronomer finds a radio signal from aliens.
When a film delves into the arc of a story that is built on the steady progression of something unavoidable on a monumental scale and of biblical proportions, it’s rather hard to maintain and hook people. Most films falter in the first 15 minutes of a two and a half hour epic story. This happens with natural disasters, nuclear warfare and extraterrestrials, aka aliens. Contact stretches the imagination in the real setting of the world as it utilizes modern day technology in a way that makes you realize this isn’t too farfetched.
Contact envelopes us in the life of a devoted astronomer, Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), who, after years of searching, finds conclusive evidence from a radio signal of intelligent life forms outside the boundaries of Earth. She uncovers from the signal that the aliens have sent plans to build a mysterious machine. We are then taken for a ride as the world watches Ellie go through a spiritual and emotional journey furthering her discovery. Matthew McConaughey plays Palmer Ross, a writer and friend to Ellie. David Morse appears as Ellie’s father through flashbacks and James Woods is the Senator Ellie clashes with.
I thought Contact was thought provoking and intelligent, which had me hooked from the moment I heard the haunting signal that Ellie hears. I marvel at the fact you don’t have to show green blobs with tentacles to get the point across we’re dealing with aliens. Contact is captivating as it presents a series of facts throughout the course that filter through to a very unusual resolution.
It’s very visceral and smartly uses special effects in a way that most films don’t – to further the plot! We are taken on an adventure that is surreal and doesn’t crossover to means of extreme lunacy. Contact is inspiring to watch as it can spark debate on a number of issues. It does a great servitude to the genre of science fiction as it sweeps us away and catapults us to the far reaches of curiosity and desire within the confines of imagination in a reasonable way.
Written by: John Berkowitz
Reviewers Rating: 7
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
Added: 2-Sep-2008
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