Contagion (2011)

Contagion treats its all-star cast like slides in a briefing: Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law and Matt Damon each get a few clicks, then it’s on to the next one. That’s by design, and it’s also the problem. The movie is so cool and clinical that some people you should care about barely register, and Cotillard’s thread overseas goes on pause for an hour. What it does brilliantly is procedure. Steven Soderbergh’s camera lingers on hands, glasses and doorknobs until every shared surface feels loaded. Fishburne plays a man trying to be calm and honest at once, and Winslet makes tracking down contacts look like heroism. Jude Law’s blogger, selling fear and a miracle cure in the same breath, feels more real every year. Damon’s scenes as a dad are the quiet heart, and the film treats grief with real care. A 7.9 because it’s exacting and respectful, even when it forgets to be warm. $241 says you catch yourself counting how often you touch your face before the credits are even over.

What works: Soderbergh’s step-by-step approach makes the science gripping, and Fishburne, Winslet and Damon ground it in decent people trying to do the right thing.

What doesn’t: With so many storylines, several characters stay at arm’s length, and Marion Cotillard’s thread overseas stalls for long stretches.

Who it’s for: Viewers who like procedural thrillers about experts at work, and anyone ready to revisit it with a little distance.