For Your Anticipation: I'm Thrilled to Hear it

I have a generally cynical attitude regarding "Carnage", as it just doesn't look like so outstanding a film outside of Christoph Waltz's presence. Perhaps Kate Winslet, but she looks like she's dialing too much vehement aggression and not enough grace within it. The play is at best a showcase for actors, and if they aren't there, the film won't work. I have an unease about it.

Film Review: "Contagion" (**1/2)

Within 10 minutes of "Contagion", I was already catching myself touching my spotty face and letting out a nervous cough, and the slightest scare of paranoia reached me, and other audience members understandably. I'm about to get into a lot of things that I wasn't too fond of in "Contagion", some forgivable, but nonetheless troubling. All the same, I think it's worth mentioning the one thing that Steven Soderbergh does to perfection in this film, which is that central fear of germs and illness that is unavoidable in real life.

If Soderbergh's film has a main character, it's the virus to which it owes its title. From the first moment, it's about the spread of the virus, and how society and the several disease control agencies deal with that problem. There are several characters put to work in the film, and you'd be forgiven for forgetting one or two. Soderbergh packs "Contagion" with all star cast members, none of which hold total focus. Some of them are doctors (Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet), some of them civilians (Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, John Hawkes), and just outside players (Bryan Cranston, Jude Law).

VENICE: "Carnage" Reactions

I suppose this outcome is a tad bit less than surprising, but whatever. "Carnage" was the second big name on the list for appearance at Cannes, and after that trailer I was very much expecting the critics to react in such a way as this. The film itself seems to be less of a talking point than the characters and actors within it. There's enough positivity towards John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster, surprisingly enough. Kate Winslet seems to be the odd one out, which is even more surprising. Christoph Waltz, as per usual, is stealing the show again. So I'll still see the film when it arrives, but it won't be for Polanski, who isn't really a talking point at all here. Why'd he choose something that so belittles his importance?

Guy Lodge (In Contention; **1/2 out of 4): "It’s Christoph Waltz, however, who most creatively interprets and restyles Reza’s brittle writing, and consequently walks off with the film: elegantly wielding a slippery Euro-Yank accent and maintaining a chilly calm when the remaining characters are pushed into hysteria, his indifferent, work-wed father is the most waspish of the four, yet somehow the closest the script comes to a sympathetic character — if only because he seems to be the only one aware how awful they all are."

"Carnage" Trailer

We're finally making all the stops as far as the slate of films premiering at Venice, and Roman Polanski's new drama has now begun to reveal itself. You can't really expect much of a wide scope coming from something based off a stage production. You can usually expect some strong performances, and while Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly are average as usual, Christoph Waltz and especially Kate Winslet are getting the heap of deserved attention. Winslet usually excels at playing such drastically unstable characters, with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Revolutionary Road" as two major examples. "Carnage" could give her a strong Supporting Actress bid.