Jodie Foster plays Dr. Eleanor Arroway, an extraterrestrial-obsessed scientist determined to make first contact and initiate communication with beings from other worlds. An atheist when pressed, Arroway believes wholeheartedly in the inherent value of research even when it doesn't glean profit or power. The film circles the drain of wonderment and the follies of human exceptionalism by following Arroway and her team as they work tirelessly to maintain funding from the powers that be to execute their mission of discovery. One of Zemeckis' most angered and starry-eyed outings, CONTACT takes square aim at the absurd hypocrisies embedded within American politics and its undying devotion to the ruthless Military Industrial Complex. In a turn as yet another Gump-like character in the Zemeckis-Verse, Matthew McConaughey plays the somewhat charming doofus Palmer Joss, a Christian philosopher that cluelessly pseudo-intellectualizes his way to the very tip top of the US government (!!!), joining the ranks of other such smooth-brained individuals as Bill Clinton. Using Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan's story as a jumping off point, Zemeckis crafted a film so ruthlessly critical of the current hegemonic overlords that the Military stepped in to demand certain excisions, along with our former president Slick Willy voicing his concerns in a letter to Zemeckis after the film had premiered. Perhaps because the filmmaking on display was of a truly astonishing level, the seething critiques scattered throughout CONTACT rarely get discussed, instead bowing to the wonderment of the journey to the stars that did or didn't happen. Yet again, Zemeckis proves his unshakeable ability to quietly but viciously bite the hand that feeds.