SF (not sci-fi) which dares to consider the nature of the Universe
Contact takes thematic risks. Its heroine doubts God exists and won't accept the concept unless there is proof. McConaughey is the Yin to her Yang, a lasped priest who in a mere four years goes from spiritual gadfly to Prez advisor thanks to writing one bestseller. Uh-huh. Sure. It's a thankless role, but he makes the best of it.
Contact is systematic of the American way of doing things. Someone dares to dream the dream--be an actual doer and once that is achieved, politics comes into play so the Doubting Thomases and Dan Quayle-like dim bulbs can take credit. Foster is shouted down several times thru the movie by their insipid reasoning, but guess who perseveres in the end?
Of course contact is achieved and Zemeckis has no peer from a camerawork standpoint. The camera zooms, swoops, and trails behind Foster as she charges thru hallways and up staircases to reach the control room. Once they all gather and listen to the signal, the tension could be cut with a knife--truly well done.
Contact dares to explore deep meaningful themes. Does God exist? What is our place in the Universe? So the movie takes an intellectual stance, as opposed to the emptiness of sci-fi extravaganzas like The 5th Element, whose theme is only "How big can we make the explosions?". Contact does not explore these issues deeply. After all, this is a big budget Hollywood flick out to rake in big box office; not some tract. So it has Deep Meaning by virtue of default thanks to its nonstellar competition.
To enjoy this movie one has to be of a certain frame of mind--one who revels in dialogue which does more than give an excuse to head to the next explosionfest. If you approach Contact that way, then the movie viewer is in for a treat.
Such a movie is bound to suffer the cliche of religious fanatics at work. After all, that's the great thing about religion--the fanatics are blessedly rigid in their view of the Universe and their typical stupefying intolerance figures heavily into the plot. (After all, they would have to be religious fanatics because whoever heard of humanistic fanatics?)
Much has been made of Klinton's appearances in the flick. He's a public figure, there aren't that many scenes; so get over it. The Forrest Gump-like F/X of these sequences are remarkably poor. It's the cinematic equivalent of blunt children's scissors and construction paper to cut 'n' paste these scenes.
Other F/X are also poor--the machine seen in the distance does not appear to actually be "there". On the other hand, that which takes place on the gantry and Foster's thru-the- Stargate-equivalent-to-2001 hallucinogenic ride are primo F/X.
Foster is the only actress which could have (and thankfully was) cast in this role. She radiates intelligence and puts it to excellent use as her character strives for Truth. What she does at the hearing at the end of the movie demostrates her awesome acting talent. The Academy nomination for Best Actress is a lock.
Contact is solid entertainment for those who want a movie that has substance instead of endless mind-numbing explosions. It's so unlike the sci-fi movies produced nowadays that I am surprised that the movie was greenlit. But thankfully it was.
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