Side Effects

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source: Side Effects

It may be because I kept reading and hearing about how many "mind-bending twists" this movie contains, but I was somewhat disappointed with it. The one central twist of the plot is quite predictable, especially when you consider that there are only two possible "truths" about what you have already seen happening, and the film desperately wants you to believe one of them....there IS at least one genuine surprise (the "truth serum" test), but it's a fairly minor one in the whole pattern of things. So, while "Side Effects" is well-directed by Steven Soderbergh and well-acted by a well-selected quartet of stars (plus some key supporting players), it's not really the mind-blower it's being hyped as. ** out of 4.

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Steven Soderbergh says this is it. His final film. At age 50, he says he is walking away from making movies. Over the years, he has provided some good and some not so good, but never has he bored us. Movie lovers will always be grateful to him for his 1989 Sex, Lies and Videotape, which single-handedly brought the spotlight back to indie film. While I am quite skeptical of his retirement claim, it's noteworthy because the absence of one of today's true auteur's would be a loss for the art of cinema. As for this "last" film, it begins as Hitchcock-esque, but concludes as more like Basic Instinct or Dressed to Kill. Put simply, the first half is mesmerizing while the second half devolves into a trashy pulp thriller. The first half brought to mind the term pharmacological thriller. It seems as though Soderbergh and frequent collaborator Scott Z Burns (Contagion, The Informant!) are making a statement about our current societal trend of seeking answers, or at least treatment, through medication ... despite the risky side effects. We meet Emily and Martin Taylor (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum) as he is released from prison (insider trading) and she is falling back into her depressive ways. She is soon enough being treated by Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), a doctor who seems typical in his belief that finding the right pill cures most ills. Since this is a suspense thriller filled with numerous twists and double, even triple-crossings, it's impossible to go too deep into what happens without spoilers ... something I won't do here. What can be said is the pharmacological thriller shifts into legal drama and finally a who-done-what kind of conclusion. The solving of the mystery comes courtesy of another oft-used Hitchcock theme: the wronged man seeking vindication. Rooney Mara and Jude Law are both excellent here and to whatever extent the story works for you, they deserve the credit along with Soderbergh. Ms. Mara was outstanding in the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Mr. Law continues his transition from lame rom-com's to quality dramatic actor. The same shouldn't be said for Catherine Zeta-Jones, who plays Dr Victoria Seibert, Emily's first psychiatrist. Every scene she shares and every line she speaks just screams "look at me", not a desired quality for a supporting role. Support work is provided by Polly Draper, Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep's daughter), Vinessa Shaw, Peter Friedman, Laila Robins, and Ann Dowd. Soderbergh does not disappoint from a technical aspect. His odd camera angles and unique shots are quite impressive and effective in sustaining the mood, even as the story spirals towards far-fetched. If it's truly his swan song, it seems appropriate that we see both the highs and lows of director Soderbergh. Here's hoping he returns very soon to the medium where his impact is needed.

Went into this one expecting nothing much- and it delivered just that. (Or, as Tom Servo once quipped on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 while watching THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS: "This movie goes Nowhere- and STAYS there.") SIDE EFFECTS could've been a realistic look at the deplorable state of mental health care in a country desperately in need of some (the good ol' U.$.)- but, instead, devolves very quickly into a predictable, humdrum exercise in murder (big news, there; it's not like every single series on television doesn't delve into murder week in and week out)... I highly recommend you go out and rent a movie; paying through the nose to see this one is a waste.

Side Effects (2013) Tightly scripted, superbly cast and acted, well-crafted movie all around. This is in a conventional story-telling style but the details are so finely tuned it's a pleasure, and a suspense, all through. I'm not sure who gets more credit, Jude Law in his role as Dr. Banks, a truly well-meaning psychiatrist or Rooney Mara as Emily, the patient (in various stages, and not always so well-meaning). Both are brilliant and believable. You half expect them to click romantically, but that you'll have to see about. The plot, at first, has to do with Emily dealing with her husband getting out of jail (he was in for insider trading). Then with her depression coping with it all. Then with the pills she's taking for same. Then with the apparent side effects of the medication, which loom as a whole new horror story. And that's just the beginning. There are surprises (one of them hinted at in the opening scene) and then further and further twists. The plot threatens to get overly sensational but somehow keeps itself in check. So the movie becomes increasingly a thriller with its feet on the ground. Always interesting. Director Steven Soderbergh is a true artist movie maker. And you can feel things finely tuned and in control here. He has never been the kind of auteur as the famous greats like Coppola or Kubrick or more recently even Nolan (whatever the excesses of the latter). But within the conventions of conventional movies, he usually makes really watchable, polished, and visually beautiful movies. That's very true here.