Contact
Contact is a 1997 science fiction film based on a Carl Sagan novel. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film is hopeful and echoes many of the sentiments of Sagan’s book. I think he would have been proud of the final project, but sadly he passed away seven months prior to the film’s release. Sagan had always intended Eleanor Arroway’s story to be a movie and even had visions of it before his book was finished in 1985. The book took its origins from a treatment that Sagan wrote with his wife in the early 1980s. Originally, Sagan had talked with director Francis Ford Coppola about making a film about alien contact, but those discussions fell apart.
Sagan began discussing the project with other film producers and spent hundreds of hours going over the details of how his novel could be adapted for the screen. The makers of Contact worked with Sagan and science think tanks to hammer out just how scientifically complex the film could be. The accuracy of the science was very important to Sagan, as he would often point out scientific errors in other films as being problems. The project went through its usual issues of production, with one director being approached and another being hired altogether. Eventually, Zemeckis was attached to direct, Jodie Foster signed on for the lead, and things were underway to turn Contact into a feature film.
Foster stars as Eleanor Arroway, a free-thinking radio astronomer. The first shots of her are shown as she is growing up as a child fascinated by amateur radio. Her father fosters her with a healthy knowledge of science and Ellie grows up as a various curious girl. She becomes an astronomer with a curiosity for other planets and the possibilities of alien life. In her late 20s, Ellie is a researcher working on the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) program. She meets young theology student Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) and has a brief encounter with him before heading off to the radio telescopes in New Mexico. While there, at the Very Large Array, Ellie detects a powerful signal of extraterrestrial origin unleashes a firestorm of publicity with her exploration of the results.
The entire world descends on Ellie and her discovery, which takes place four years after her meeting with Palmer Joss. Ellie and her team analyze the data from the signals, as the signals grow stronger, and certain plans are revealed. The United States government becomes involved and eventually the revealed plans are put into motion to construct a sort of spacecraft to take someone to the mysterious realm from which the alien signals came. Various religious groups both protest and support the project and government officials become equally engrossed in the project. Contact explores these ideas more than it explores the idea of extraterrestrial life, so the film really becomes about the human stories behind a scientifically fantastic discovery.
What works best in Contact is its honesty with its subject matter. While it does have some roots in the genre of science fiction, the film is much more of a drama that illustrates our fascination with the universe, our fear of discovery, and our ideas of faith and their intersection with science. The compatibility of religious views and scientific views is explored, but unlike most of the common discourse of the idea, these views are given reasoned discussion and respectful tone. The movie is about Ellie’s search for life in the universe, true, but it is also about Ellie’s mind and her personality.
Contact is interesting because of the rarity of having science fiction that works as exploratory. The human condition of belief, faith, and trust in science is examined. Science fiction films have a tendency to go for the special effects and leave the questions in the dust for preference of a big, flashy finale. With Contact, those questions enter at the start of the film and leave at the finale still intact. Ellie’s questions are valid, as are those of Palmer Joss. The characters are treated with dignity and respect, which is a refreshing change in a genre that can all too often get the subtleties wrong. Joss and Ellie, despite having opposing views, find commonality and even love with one another.
Zemeckis is often thought of as a sort of effects director, a label which he may well have earned. His exploration into the technology of filmmaking makes him a very bright talent to keep an eye on, but with Contact he proves that he has the ability to tell the human story as well. With precision and an eye for detail, Zemeckis directs the characters and the visions with good measure. There are many stunning visuals, both natural and supernatural, and Zemeckis’ exploration allows us to experience the wonder with the characters.
Contact is a strong film. It does have some issues, as some of the performances and moments are slightly schlocky. Overall, however, Foster’s performance is a good one and the questions the film raises are unique in terms of Hollywood sci-fi. John Hurt is great as Hadden, a Howard Hughes-type billionaire with an interest in Ellie’s affairs and James Woods is an always entertaining character actor. The characters come together seamlessly, for the most part, and the supporting performances are all relatively good. Contact is a well-directed, thoughtful, and meditative film about extra-terrestrial life, love, and the existence of belief. It is a challenging and rewarding film.
Trailer:
