Contact (1997) Is One Of The Best Science Fiction Films Of The 1990s. It’s A Smart, Thoughtful Movie About Science, Faith, And The Possibility That We Are Not Alone. Robert Zemeckis And Jodie Foster Made A Science Fiction Classic That Still Holds Up Today.
Contact is one of those science fiction movies that gets better every time I watch it. Released in 1997 and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the movie takes the enormous idea of making contact with an extraterrestrial civilization and turns it into something much more personal and human.
Jodie Foster stars as Dr. Ellie Arroway, a scientist who has spent most of her life looking toward the stars. Ellie is incredibly intelligent and completely dedicated to science, but there is also a very personal reason behind her obsession with discovering what is out there. Her father encouraged her curiosity about the universe when she was young, and after losing him, that curiosity becomes an important part of who she is.
Ellie works with SETI, searching through radio signals from distant parts of the universe for evidence of intelligent life. Most of the time it is an endless search through static and noise, until Ellie finally discovers something that changes everything. A strange repeating signal is coming from the star Vega, and it quickly becomes clear that this isn’t a natural phenomenon.
The signal contains instructions for building an enormous machine capable of transporting a person somewhere. Suddenly the scientific discovery that Ellie has spent her entire life searching for becomes a global event. Governments get involved, religious groups have their own opinions, scientists argue over what should happen and the entire world is forced to consider the possibility that humanity isn’t alone.
Jodie Foster is excellent as Ellie. She plays her as extremely intelligent without making her feel like a stereotypical Hollywood scientist who always knows exactly what to say. Ellie can be stubborn, frustrated and emotionally guarded, but you can always understand why she is so determined. Foster makes the character feel like a real person rather than just someone there to move the plot forward.
The supporting cast is also fantastic. Matthew McConaughey plays Palmer Joss, a religious philosopher who develops a complicated relationship with Ellie. James Woods, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt and Angela Bassett are all great in their roles as well. The movie is filled with recognizable actors, but nobody feels like they are simply there because they are famous.
One of the best things about Contact is the way it handles the conflict between science and faith. Ellie believes in evidence and wants everything to be proven. Palmer believes there are things that can’t necessarily be measured or explained through science. The movie doesn’t simply pick one side and tell the audience that the other side is stupid.
That makes their relationship much more interesting. Ellie and Palmer disagree about some very important things, but they also respect each other. Contact understands that science and faith are complicated subjects and that people can have completely different ways of trying to understand the universe.
Robert Zemeckis was also the perfect director for the movie. He knew how to handle large scale visual effects and big Hollywood productions, but he also understood that Contact needed plenty of quieter moments. The movie isn’t about aliens attacking Earth or spaceships blowing things up. The real excitement comes from discovering something that could completely change our understanding of existence.
The special effects were impressive for 1997, particularly the sequences involving the machine and Ellie’s journey. But the effects aren’t what make Contact such a memorable movie. The story works because there are actual ideas behind all of the spectacle.
The final act is where the movie really becomes something special. Without getting too deep into spoilers, Ellie experiences something that challenges everything she believes about evidence and proof. The question becomes whether something can be real if you experienced it but can’t provide anyone else with physical evidence that it happened.
I also love how the movie deals with humanity’s reaction to something we don’t understand. There are political arguments, religious objections, conspiracy theories and plenty of people who simply aren’t prepared for what is happening. That actually makes the movie feel more believable because something this enormous would obviously create chaos.
Contact is ultimately a movie about curiosity. Ellie represents that part of humanity that looks at the stars and refuses to stop asking questions. The movie understands that we may never get all of the answers, but that shouldn’t stop us from searching.
That’s why I think Contact is such a great film. It has an incredible cast, a great director, impressive visuals and a fascinating story, but it also has something a lot of modern science fiction seems to forget. It actually has something to say. Contact isn’t just about discovering whether aliens exist. It’s about science, faith, loneliness, humanity and our desire to understand where we fit into this enormous universe. Nearly 30 years later, that’s still a pretty damn good reason to watch it.
