CONTACT
(Warner Bros.)Director: Robert Zemeckis
Producers: Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey
Co-Producers: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
Executive Producers: Joan Bradshaw, Lynda Obst
Screenwriter: Michael Goldenberg, from the story by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
Director of Photography: Don Burgess
Visual Effects Supervisor: Ken Ralston
Cast: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe, Angela Bassett
Quick Review:
This is a wondrous, wonder-filled film, but it has a conclusion (as opposed to an "ending") that is not quite as satisfying. Foster is luminous as the radio astronomer who bonds with the stars through the love and teachings of her father (gently and perfectly played by David Morse), but who hides inside herself when he dies while she is still young. McConaughey is fine as the love interest confused by her lack of commitment, but mostly, the film is about wonder -- how strongly we long for something, somewhere. That's why the final "contact" is SO important, and that's why I am left not only with questions (which is one of the purposes of art), but also with a lack of fulfillment. The film seems to build up to a cosmological climax, and then ...
Rating (on a four-star scale):
Interview with Jodie Foster.
