Film Review: Side Effects

Director: Steven Soderbergh

After the recent announcement that Behind the Candelabra would be Soderbergh's last film, it was only fitting that I saw his penultimate film before retirement. As a director he has had a distinguished career working on some fantastic movies which ensures he leaves behind an impressive legacy. Its surreal to think that Sex, Lies and Videotape was over 20 years ago, his latest film is a psychological thriller about a new drug released to the market for depression and the devastating effects it has on the lives of the people who take it.

Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara)

Emily Taylor (Mara) is suffering from depression as her husband, Martin (Tatum), is released from prison for insider trading. She tries to kill herself which lands her in the hospital where she meets psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Banks (Law) who makes her promise to visit him for sessions if he releases her from hospital. After trying drugs that don't help her she ends up on a new drug called Ablixa that is recommended to Banks by a colleague called Dr. Victoria Siebert (Zeta-Jones) which has disastrous consequences.

Soderbergh is renowned for creating tense thrillers that leave you enthralled as they slowly unravel infront of you, Side Effects is no different as the audience tries to piece together the puzzle behind the Ablixa drug that caused the sleepwalking and its consequences in Emily. Much like Contagion, Soderbergh asks us moral questions in this case what is a person's responsibilities for their actions if drugs are involved. Contagion looked at the human aspect of a contagious virus that is wiping out millions of people on the planet to ask us what we would do and how would we act.

Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) with Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones)

The focus is more on Jude Law than on the subjects of the case, Mara and Tatum, as he attempts to uncover exactly what has gone on. The acting is impressive although Zeta Jones is certainly a weak link as her ice maiden act just left her looking limp and dull. Having worked together previously, Soderbergh knows how to create the right characters for Jude Law with him reprising a similar role as he took in Contagion but Rooney Mara is the star turn as the fragile wife.

Soderbergh explores some interesting ideas and poses some tough questions for us. This psychological thriller lends a lot to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, such as Vertigo and Obsession, who was the master of the genre. At times it is suspense filled especially through the middle third which makes you doubt what to believe, the script is cleverly constructed and I have to say I was more than pleasantly surprised by this dark thriller.

3/4 Clever thriller with a Hitchcockian feel