USA 2014 98m Directed by: Brian Horiuchi. Starring: Frank Langella, Gena Rowlands, Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett, Teresa Palmer, Penn Badgley, Alexis Bledel, Hill Harper, Stephen Sowan, Jon Prescott, Reis Ciaramitaro, Valerie Hurt, Matt Lockwood. Music by: Mark Kilian.
The interwoven stories of three couples which are forced to make life altering decisions in the face of a disastrous war. Inspired and sometimes blinded by their love, Len, Mia, Andy, Esther, Anna and Erik are as flawed and beautiful as any of the billions who are facing this human-made biological disaster.
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Brian Horiuchi's "Parts per Billion" is about rising chaos as trade winds blow toxins from the Middle East westward, but the focus is on the characters and how they try to get on with their lives amid the disorder. I interpret this to mean that the movie's gist is that we have to avoid giving into sheer hysteria when something bad happens. We've seen how psychotic people can get when they're scared, whether with 911 or with Ebola. As for the movie itself, most of it came across as a little slow. I did think that "Outbreak" (which emphasized the biology) and "Contagion" (which depicted the government agencies as competent) were better.
This is in stark contrast to the movies that portray the rugged individual saving the day.
Review by lee_eisenberg from the Internet Movie Database.