We start with a film directed by Robert Zemeckis, but not the one he's most known for.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey and Tom Skerritt
Academy Awards: Nominated once (Best Sound).
Plot: "Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of intelligent aliens, who send plans for a mysterious machine."
Stock: Up
"Small moves, Ellie, small moves."
Contact is one of those films that gets outstanding critical reviews yet doesn't really get recognition during awards season or make a huge hit at the box office. It was nominated for just one Academy Award (in a technical category nonetheless) and despite pulling in more than $170 million worldwide it's not a well-known film. Have you seen it? If not you are missing a terrific movie, one definitely worth all the positive reviews it received more than a decade ago.
THE PLOT
Dr. Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster) is a scientist leading an investigation team called SETI (Search for ExtraTeresstial Intelligence). She spends most of her time listening to the sky hoping to hear something ... anything ... other than static. While static is all she gets from the skies, humiliation is all she gets from Earth as her bosses and even some of her colleagues feel she is wasting her time and talent.
While there is no questioning how smart and perceptive Dr. Arroway is, some would question her religious beliefs. She is a full fledged atheist, citing the lack of proof as her number one reason for not believing in a supreme being. Her beliefs come into focus because she has a quasi-relationship with a preacher played by Matthew McConaughey.
Soon her time and money run out and she is left with the sobering fact that her search for intelligent life is almost over. However late one night she hears a booming noise from the sky which inevitably changes not only her life but all of humankind as well.
The noise turns out to come from Vega, a star only 20+ light-years away. With some deciphering, Dr. Arroway and her team find out that what they are listening to is actually instuctions to build a machine that will supposedly act as a transport.
After much deliberation, the transport is built and to find out what happens next you are just going to have to watch for yourself. The final thirty minutes of Contact are emotionally gripping, polarizing, and thought-provoking. It's an ending that allows you to draw your own conclusions, which as a viewer you will appreciate.
MY REACTION
Jodie Foster does a terrific job playing the lead in this film. She wasn't nominated for any Oscars but I'm willing to bet she was on the short list of potential candidates. While I'm not the biggest Matthew McConaughey fan in the world, he does a decent job playing Jodie's love interest. Throw in good cameos by Tom Skerritt, William Fitchner and James Woods and you have a very good cast of characters.
Despite dealing with extraterrestial intelligence, Contact truly is a believable and realistic movie. If a situation like this ever occurred, it would play out just like in the film. Robert Zemeckis does an excellent job using media outlets like Jay Leno, Larry King and CNN to show how the world would react to such a fascinating development.
This was a big budget film but unlike most other "big budget" endeavors, Contact lets the story, the characters, and the ideas play center stage. The special effects serve the story, not the other way around. Movies like Independence Day and Men In Black are perfect examples of when the special effects often make up for a lack of story. This is not the case with Contact, making it a truly unique film.
What also makes it unique is the amount of discussion it creates. The battle between religion and science, destiny, mysteries of the universe, and morality are all topics this incredible film touches on. This is very much a movie that questions ... something that doesn't happen nearly enough these days. It just doesn't question the religious ideals, but the scientific ones as well. The final decision is ultimately left to you.
WHY TOP TEN?
If you've been paying attention from the beginning you know the emphasis I place on story. It's more important than the acting, the cinematography or the music. Without a strong story there's very little chance it will find my top-100. Well, Contact has good acting, good cinematogrpahy, very good music and an epic story. I don't use the word "epic" too often to describe anything, but it's fitting here.
The first couple of times I watched Contact I thought to myself how the script would make for an excellent book, so it's no surprise that it's actually based off of Carl Sagan's novel. I have not read Sagan's book but maybe it's time I fix that.
I debated whether or not to reveal the ending which would then allow me to fully discuss my thoughts and feelings on the subject. I eventually decided not to because if the shoe was on the other foot I would be upset the ending was spoiled. Besides, I can still share my feelings without giving away the finale.
Part of why the ending is go great is how much it changes Dr. Arroway. Her entire life she has questioned everything and used reasoning to find answers. She doesn't go the "faith route" because it can't be proved. However at the end of the film she is forced to rely on the one thing she always questioned ... faith. Call it irony, call it coincedence or call it happenstance, the fact that the script was switched on Dr. Arroway - and how it was switched - was a beautiful thing to witness.
Growing up I loved a good hoax. I was intrigued by UFO's, BigFoot, and the Abominable Snowman. It's a big reason why I question everything I see and hardly take anything for face value. Hidden in the dephts of Contact is a potential hoax which hovers above the movie much like an invisible UFO would.
Mr. Hadden is a man of substanial wealth who just so happens to bail Dr. Arroway out when she is in desperate need of money. He lingers in this film, only appearing every so often, usually when Dr. Arroway needs some help. At the end of the movie it's suggested that Mr. Hadden fooled the world and faked everything (the signal, the encoded directions, etc). While I'm certainly not in that camp, there are small clues scattered around this film that at the very least cause some concern.
At the end of the day Contact is a great escape movie without being unreal. It's a difficult blend to accomplish, but Contact is able to do it with ease.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
David Drumlin: I know you must think this is all very unfair. Maybe that's an understatement. What you don't know is I agree. I wish the world was a place where fair was the bottom line, where the kind of idealism you showed at the hearing was rewarded, not taken advantage of. Unfortunately, we don't live in that world.
Ellie Arroway: Funny, I've always believed that the world is what we make of it.
"You wanna hear something really nutty? I heard of a couple guys who wanna build something called an "airplane," you know you get people to go in, and fly around like birds, it's ridiculous, right? And what about breaking the sound barrier, or rockets to the moon, or atomic energy, or a mission to Mars? Science fiction, right? Look, all I'm asking, is for you to just have the tiniest bit of vision. You know, to just sit back for one minute and look at the big picture. To take a chance on something that just might end up being the most profoundly impactful moment for humanity, for the history... of history." - Dr. Arroway
Palmer Joss: [Ellie challenges Palmer to prove the existence of God] Did you love your father?
Ellie Arroway: What?
Palmer Joss: Your dad. Did you love him?
Ellie Arroway: Yes, very much.
Palmer Joss: Prove it.
Young Ellie: Dad, do you think there's people on other planets?
Ted Arroway: I don't know, Sparks. But I guess I'd say if it is just us... seems like an awful waste of space.
"I'm not against technology, doctor. I'm against the men who deify it at the expense of human truth." - Palmer Joss.
"Ellie, still waiting for E.T. to call?" - Dr. Drumlin.
"So it turns out there's life on other planets. Boy, this is really going to change the Miss Universe contest, you know what I mean?" - Jay Leno.
"Some celestial event. No - no words. No words to describe it. Poetry! They should've sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful... I had no idea." - Dr. Arroway.
"You're an interesting species. An interesting mix. You're capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other." - Alien.
"So what's more likely? That an all-powerful, mysterious God created the Universe, and decided not to give any proof of his existence? Or, that He simply doesn't exist at all, and that we created Him, so that we wouldn't have to feel so small and alone?" - Dr. Arroway.
"Our job was to select someone to speak for everybody. And I just couldn't in good conscience vote for a person who doesn't believe in God. Someone who honestly thinks the other ninety five percent of us suffer from some form of mass delusion." - Palmer Joss.
So there you have it, a look at Contact, my #10 favorite movie. 91 down, only nine to go. We will be back next week with #9. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and check out Contact, it's free on YouTube.
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
No comments:
Post a Comment