Like the flip of a switch, the movie theater went from a place filled with summer leftover and dumped transition movie to a place filled with four and five-star pieces of excellence. Contagion hasn’t had the all-year festival buzz of something like Drive or Warrior, but it made a statement immediately upon arrival. I was enthusiastic enough about the film to give it five-stars and discuss it quite excitedly in the weekly video, and it will certainly be one of my favorites of the year.

What’s interesting about interviewing any one actor from the film is that no matter how A-list a cast member is, they’re still ultimately a piece of a much larger puzzle and may not have even interacted with one of the other advertised name actors. It’s indicative of just how unique of a structure the film has, and the sophistication of Soderbergh’s technique that he’s able to pull something like that off in a satisfying manner.

Sanaa Lathan and I spoke about that and other topics in the video above, during her brief stay in Atlanta. Despite having done radio interviews since 5:30am she was game to discuss the film and her unique experience on it. Sanaa has an interesting story herself, as she’s managed to maintain a steady career since starting in TV in the mid-90s, which we also talk about. Take a look and let us know what you think!

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