Outbreak (1995)
The 90’s drama you’d expect it to be.
I’m fascinated by the fact that people are consuming films like Contagion, Outbreak, and The Flu while the coronavirus is on the top of all of our minds and newsfeeds. It’s like we’re all trying to seek some comfort in how situations have been handled previously, even if it is just fictional. Or maybe we’re seeking these things out because our current reality is so terrifying — if these characters can make it out, so can we. Or maybe we’re just a little twisted and want to lean into the current fear. All seem like plausible explanations to me.
When I saw that Outbreak was on Netflix, I laughed to myself at the idea of a 90’s thriller about a pandemic with all of its dramatic glory. I thought it would be an obvious B-movie and one that’s not worth watching, until I read the cast list: Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Rene Russo, and Kevin Spacey, to name just a few. Based on that cast list, despite my initial reservations, I dove in.
Outbreak was exactly what I thought Contagion was going to be.
This film is so overwhelmingly dramatic that it became humorous, though I wondered how it was received at the time of its release. It followed a traditional 90s plot structure and hit every mark perfectly, without missing a beat. Each actor was doing their overly serious…
