Side Effects (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Side Effects' (directed by Steven Soderbergh, Traffic, Erin Brokovich, Contagion) is a sort of old-school Hitchcockian drama/thriller set in the mysterious world of bipolar medication {with MANY horrific side effects. Trust me, I know from experience}. These drugs are made & sold to lift you up, conquer fatigue, & to take the edge off of stress. This is a hugely profitable business with corporations delivering a multi-billion dollar annual profit to their eager shareholders. BUT, lawsuits against drug companies for giving kickbacks to psychiatrists, illegal marketing, & other such activities are becoming more commonplace. And to me, what's most disturbing is the quickly growing number of unfortunate patients who are becoming violent (as a side effect) due to these magical antidepressants.
Emily (Rooney Mara, of Dragon Tattoo fame) is a mercurial 28 yr. old housewife whose life seems to have collapsed after her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) was caught for insider trading & sent to prison for 4 yrs.. During his imprisonment, Emily had to move into a Manhattan apartment after losing their opulent Connecticut home & rich lifestyle. When he is finally released from prison, Martin is happy to see his mom (Ann Dowd), but quite upset to find that his wife is, well, severely depressed. It 'seems' that his release (not his imprisonment) is the real start of her downward spiral. After putting the pedal to the metal & crashing her car into a parking garage wall (in an attempted suicide), Emily begins seeing Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), an up-&-coming psychiatrist.
Perplexed by Emily's unique behavior, Jonathan seeks counsel from Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Emily's former therapist who encourages him to prescribe a new antidepressant called Ablixa. Jonathan needs more cash to pay for his stepson's schooling so he agrees to be 'consultant' to a large pharmaceutical company for $50,000. All the while, Emily suffers with the Ablixa. She still seems suicidal; and has even picked up extreme instances of sleepwalking. Tragedy strikes. Jonathan's methods are called to media scrutiny. And several key players in this story seem to know more about this tragedy than they are willing to reveal.
'Side Effects' is full of surprises; especially in the last 45 minutes or so. Rooney Mara & Jude Law give nuanced performances chock full of ambiguities; we're never fully sure of their intentions. Is he a good guy? Is she beyond help? I'll tell you this ... there's so much more than meets the eye. We follow these characters as they lead us through one plot twist after another. See, for the 1st hour, it seems that 'Side Effects' will primarily examine of the ethics associated with rampant prescriptions of antidepressants. Heavy advertising has turned the legitimate affliction of depression into something universal. But by concentrating on this aspect of the plot, Steven Soderbergh is able to pull a sleight-of-hand on us & redirect the focus in a completely different direction for the rest of the film.
Now, 'Side Effects' is one of those movies that you may want to see again in order to catch all the little subtleties/details that could clue you into why certain characters do or say what they do. Our perceptions of certain events changes as the plot unfolds. That said, I don't think this film is for everyone. The 1st hour is quite slow & deliberate in pacing. The mood is dour. The characters are glum. And if there's a musical score, it's used sparingly. Furthermore, while I respect that the plot developments are refreshingly unpredictable, that's mostly due to a series of preposterous plot twists. This isn't the type of film that you can "love", but it IS the type of film that you can see, at least once, & say that it was of the "smarter" sort.
Emily (Rooney Mara, of Dragon Tattoo fame) is a mercurial 28 yr. old housewife whose life seems to have collapsed after her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) was caught for insider trading & sent to prison for 4 yrs.. During his imprisonment, Emily had to move into a Manhattan apartment after losing their opulent Connecticut home & rich lifestyle. When he is finally released from prison, Martin is happy to see his mom (Ann Dowd), but quite upset to find that his wife is, well, severely depressed. It 'seems' that his release (not his imprisonment) is the real start of her downward spiral. After putting the pedal to the metal & crashing her car into a parking garage wall (in an attempted suicide), Emily begins seeing Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), an up-&-coming psychiatrist.
Perplexed by Emily's unique behavior, Jonathan seeks counsel from Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Emily's former therapist who encourages him to prescribe a new antidepressant called Ablixa. Jonathan needs more cash to pay for his stepson's schooling so he agrees to be 'consultant' to a large pharmaceutical company for $50,000. All the while, Emily suffers with the Ablixa. She still seems suicidal; and has even picked up extreme instances of sleepwalking. Tragedy strikes. Jonathan's methods are called to media scrutiny. And several key players in this story seem to know more about this tragedy than they are willing to reveal.
'Side Effects' is full of surprises; especially in the last 45 minutes or so. Rooney Mara & Jude Law give nuanced performances chock full of ambiguities; we're never fully sure of their intentions. Is he a good guy? Is she beyond help? I'll tell you this ... there's so much more than meets the eye. We follow these characters as they lead us through one plot twist after another. See, for the 1st hour, it seems that 'Side Effects' will primarily examine of the ethics associated with rampant prescriptions of antidepressants. Heavy advertising has turned the legitimate affliction of depression into something universal. But by concentrating on this aspect of the plot, Steven Soderbergh is able to pull a sleight-of-hand on us & redirect the focus in a completely different direction for the rest of the film.
Now, 'Side Effects' is one of those movies that you may want to see again in order to catch all the little subtleties/details that could clue you into why certain characters do or say what they do. Our perceptions of certain events changes as the plot unfolds. That said, I don't think this film is for everyone. The 1st hour is quite slow & deliberate in pacing. The mood is dour. The characters are glum. And if there's a musical score, it's used sparingly. Furthermore, while I respect that the plot developments are refreshingly unpredictable, that's mostly due to a series of preposterous plot twists. This isn't the type of film that you can "love", but it IS the type of film that you can see, at least once, & say that it was of the "smarter" sort.