Contact
A movie review by Monika Huebner Copyright 1998 Monika Huebner
Director: Robert Zemeckis Starring Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerrit, Angela Basset, John Hurt, James Woods
Even as a child Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) shows a strong affinity for natural sciences fostered by her father until his untimely death. She has a particular predilection for astronomy and the search for intelligent life on other planets. After obtaining her doctorate at MIT she gets a job at the SETI institute in New Mexico. When after years of unavailing research the money for further projects is denied to her, the most incredible thing happens: she receives signals originating on a star named Vega 26 light years away. Having grappled with the initially alarming nature of the message (a TV coverage of the 1936 Olympic Games' inauguration at Berlin), they discover coded information containing the construction manual for a mysterious machine. The United States decide to build it, turning a blind eye to opponents who suspect a diabolical instrument for the elimination of mankind. In fact, the first test run ends in a catastrophe, albeit in a somewhat different way than most people had feared. The project seems to be finished, but Ellie is still in for a surprise.
CONTACT presents Jodie Foster in one of her best parts ever, namely an ambitious scientist called Dr. Ellie Arroway who has to stand her ground in a field traditionally belonging to the men's world. The only trouble is that she does it because of a childhood trauma – she never managed to overcome the loss of her beloved father. Quite obviously, Hollywood still hasn't grappled with the dilemma of accepting a strong female character simply behaving in a ‘normal' way as it would be naturally expected of a man. This can also be seen from the fact that previous to a press conference at which to report her research results to the public Ellie, who otherwise seems to have rather little interest in secular things, is preoccupied with only one thought: where to get a particularly attractive and extravagant dress. In a film such as CONTACT, which contrasts agreeably with science fiction films commonly produced in tinsel town, this detail is especially conspicuous.
Robert Zemeckis' film is a strikingly close adaptation of Carl Sagan's novel and consequently encompasses the ‘faith versus science' issue repeatedly touched on by Sagan. For example, the construction of the ‘machine' attracts a phalanx of religious fanatics preaching the end of the world. In many individuals the impending turn of the century evokes the angst of the Judgement Day, equally well known to our modern society as to medieval Europe 1000 years ago. Another matter of great human concern is the question about the existence of God, or whether it is right to send scientists to a remote star although they don't believe in God. The church is embodied by ‘Father' Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a former priest who appears as a confirmed representative of the Catholic faith although for personal reasons he did not finish the seminary. The love story, which seems to be compulsory in Hollywood, starts to blossom between him and Ellie; in this film however, it is a drawback rather than an asset because it is virtually redundant and does not promote the action.
Having said that, CONTACT is one of the films most worthy to view this year with its placid yet not boring narrative and a flood of fantastic pictures especially captivating. The special effects do not simply function in their own right, but because they are elements required by the plot. They provide the film with an aesthetic quality rarely to be found in this genre. Right at the beginning for example the audience is taken on a ride through the solar system to the centre of the Milky Way, the significance of which is only revealed in the course of the film.
Some may think that with a 2˝ hours' run CONTACT is unreasonably long, but that way the story has time enough to develop. The main cast is perfect and several cameos of American TV celebrities render the scenario even more realistic. So if an action spectacle featuring many explosions, shoot-outs, spaceships and chases is something you can very well do without, you should not miss out on this one.
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