``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
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