This is not a science fiction film. The background for the film is that someone in the Mideast releases an airborne pathogen that kills people on contact and is traveling in the northern hemisphere from east to west, i.e. against the prevailing winds. I know of no such biological agent and I can't imagine the controls it would take to develop one or why one would do so.

That said, this fact was fairly immaterial to the film. This is NOT a film for science fiction fans. This is another end of the world film that is about relationships more than the science. It is filled with metaphors. In fact it is so filled with metaphors and overt about it, that it lessened the effect.

We have a guitar pic that looks like an explosion in it.

We have a discussion about cleaning a dish as being a metaphor for a relationship.

We have the Trilobite discussion as there were once billions, now they are scarce. As Charleston Heston might yell: "Parts Per Billion... it's people!!!"

The whole theme of the film, in case you couldn't grasp it, is read by Anna (Teresa Palmer) off a shampoo bottle near the end.

The characters are not really that exciting. It has three couples to follow and does so in part as a flash back making the film a bit confusing, perhaps by design. If you really loved something like "Melancholia" you might like this one.

Parental Guide: F-bombs, sex, no nudity.

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 9/11 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.

A strangely compelling, end of world tale, that could easily have gone astray but did not, due to the intimacy of the relationships told through exquisite writing and performances. Told in a mosaic fashion that builds to create a beautiful whole, the film first intrigues and then, inch by inch, draws you in. Wonderful performances all round from veterans and newcomers alike. ( Always a sign of an excellent director.) Frank Langella, Gena Rowlands shine in the mature, understated way of older greats. Josh Hartnett also brought something special to his role, as did Rosario Dawson. But it was Theresa Palmer who brought an exquisitely luminous and fragile element to her role and really brought true soul to the whole movie. An actress well worth keeping an eye out for.

A movie that transcends its not so uplifting subject matter to somehow create an uplifting movie, in a melancholy kind of way. Welll worth a deeper look.