Contact (1997)
Since this is my favorite movie of all time, I thought I should add a lengthy review here.
I watched this when I was 12, which as the saying goes - is the golden age of science fiction. I was that kid in class that used his small savings to buy a telescope, so I was already pretty much in astronomy and Dr. Ellie Arroway was really just the perfect role model. Contact was an eyeopener because it was the first science fiction movie I saw which took the science of things seriously. It made a huge impression on me how they explained the time factor of the signal going back and forth with 26 years each way, and that they showed Hitler opening the Olympics meant nothing to the aliens. My exposure to science fiction movies have mostly been in the vein of Star Wars and Independence Day. This was something else, it felt real. Another thing that blew my mind was how real footage of President Clinton was seamlessly cut into the movie to give it an authentic feeling.
I later read the novel by Carl Sagan, which is also one of the best science fiction novels ever - and even though the movie changes a lot of things, I think they make perfect sense. A movie needs to tell a story by different means, like that only one person could go in the machine for example. In the novel it is a group of people, and I don’t see that working well on screen.
I have always identified myself with Arroway and her way of thinking scientifically about everything. Matthew McConaugheys character as the religious Palmer Joss is of course pivotal to the movies overall theme about science and religion. I consider myself an atheist, but his bold statement to Arroway that she should prove that she loved her father perfectly encapsulates where science will fall short in some areas. It is not a movie about science against faith, but a respectful portrayal of two differing worldviews that can complement each other when needed.
Rating: 5