It is so rare that a big scale film that is predicated on something as fantastic as alien life would take the first twenty minutes of the film to build its characters rather than rush us into sensory overload, that at first I thought this movie was going to be a classic miscaculation on the part of the filmmakers. Filmmakers in the "instant gratification, I have a very short attention-span, give me something big and easy and give it to me now" culture that we have become.
But once I adjusted to the fact that this film was really going to be about a person and not a pheonomenon, I sat back and watched one of the truly greatest experiences of the summer. CONTACT is an exciting, intelligent and incredibly moving experience about the unknown. It proves that a woman, if talented and interesting enough, can pick up an adventure film and carry it as well as any of the fellahs.
Jody Foster has some truly beautiful and transporting moments in this film and my hat is off to her for sharing so much. At the heart of every really strong performance there is sharing and she doesn't hold back.
I think I have now seen Zemeckis' finest work. Certainly a far cry from the silly, feeble stuff of Gump. The moments of Contact in this film would certainly make Stanley Kubrick proud, though the filmmakers decide to take an infinitely more personal and intimate road vereing from their 2001 style journey that may seen derivative but it is demanded by this story and really unavoidable. Where we end up is quite a different take than the Arthur C. Clarke version of such a journey and depending on your cup of tea, you will either love or vehemently dislike the choice the film makes.
It has one or two false notes in its epic running time. But it is amazing how negligible false notes are in a film where you are enjoying the ride. A little less talk from the actual CONTACT sequence would've been great. But there is really no way to pay off this incredible premise and make everyone happy. I thought ultimately it was a wonderful way to spend an evening.
If more films were as smart as this one and as brave, I shudder to think where the movies might be headed. Its been a long time since a film got me so excited about the human race...
For that, I'm moved and grateful. Hats off to the filmmakers!
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