Review of Side Effects (2013) by James S — 20 Aug 2013

Steven Soderbergh said that he wanted to do an old fashioned thriller when it came to Side Effects, one in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock where suspense and twists in the tale were the trademarks. He's been reasonably successful too as Side Effects is a gripping little film for the most part that could sit comfortably alongside other Hitchcock influenced thrillers like Basic Instinct and Wild Things. It's clever but it has a pulpy feel to it at the same time.

Rooney Mara is depressed. Her life fell apart when her husband, Channing Tatum, went to jail for insider trading and upon his release she attempts to take her own life. Coming into contact with clinical psychiatrist Jude Law, he is persuaded by a slinky Catherine Zeta Jones to try her on a drug known as Ablixa. A side effect of this is that Mara has some trouble sleep walking, before an unfortunate turn of events ends with a knife in Tatum's back.

Side Effects deals with the issue of depression very well, at least in it's first half. Rooney Mara conveys the symptoms very well and the complexities of how those around a person suffering from depression fail to understand what it's really like. Law strikes the right chord as the sympathetic but ultimately uncaring doctor.

When the twists start coming at the half way point, you may find yourself one step ahead. It's a convoluted plot but anyone who's watched enough thrillers or murder mysteries should be able to spot the signs of what's going on. Determined not to be out done though, Soderbergh keeps the film going long after you may have assumed it was coming to a close with further revelations. While this is welcome and lends the second half of the film an element of surprise, it is perhaps to the detriment of the characters. People just seem to become very good at thinking on their feet all of a sudden and figuring stuff out in a hurried fashion. The final scenes are a little ambiguous and feel a bit flat, because of the whirlwind that's preceded them for the last 15 minutes.

Side Effects becomes a rather uneven film. Law and Mara are excellent for most of the run time. Zeta Jones seems a little wooden and her character motives seem a little flimsy but Soderbergh has put together a film that manages to surprise and thrill, even if it gets a little bit lost towards the end.

There'll always be room for intelligent but trashy thrillers and Side Effects fits in with that gang very well.