Steven Soderbergh’s new film, “Contagion,” is a psychological thriller that is leaving lasting effects on viewers everywhere. It is not necessarily the plot and definitely not the content that makes the film appealing, because in truth, it is depressing. However, the psychological appeal and hard hitting reality of the film made it an overall success.

The film casted some very famous names including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Gweneth Paltrow, helping to hype up the film before release. Despite the depressing, and at times disturbing plot-line, the overall presentation was well done and well structured. In fact, it is surprising that a film of such content was able to entertain audiences.

“Contagion” tells the story of a disease that spreads rapidly throughout the world, being traced back to a young lady, Beth Emhoff, played by Paltrow, the first to die from the disease, along with her young son. Her husband Mitch, played by Damon, who is immune to the deadly and increasingly spreading disease has made it his duty to make sure that his daughter will not be exposed to it.

However, they are not the only ones taking precautions to prevent the disease from spreading to their household. An international team of doctors step in to try to find the cause of the disease and how to deal with the outbreak. These characters try to deal with the outbreak of the disease while watching society crumble around them.

The plot does not follow one character throughout the movie, but various groups of people who have different roles in the outbreak, from a typical household trying their best to keep the disease out, to the doctors who are trying to end the illness, to an individual who attempts and succeeds in making money off the unfortunate catastrophe, which we know is not too far fetched in such circumstances.

The film, for the most part, was realistic in showing how society would deal with this kind of outbreak, and it succeeded in structuring the different elements of the plot so that it was not choppy or all over the place. The omniscient perspectives were one of the strongest points of the film, showing how the people dealt with the outbreak, rather than just the disease’s effect on a single person.

Visually, it was a disturbing film right from the beginning. This is not the kind of movie you would want to see to just sit back and relax. It was filled with distressing images and concepts that will not leave you feeling good inside. The outlook of the plot is gloomy from start to finish. The film was attention-grabbing, but not lighthearted at all.

The film can certainly engage an audience for its run time. It made entertainment out of one of the  least entertaining subjects possible.

However its depressing plot may be just as contagious as the disease in the film, causing audiences to leave the theater feeling sad and dismayed.