‘Side Effects’ Review

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I cannot refrain from joining the throng of other reviewers who find themselves remarking that this is Steven Soderbergh’s last feature film release – at least for now.  He has officially “retired” from filmmaking and will dedicate himself to painting instead.  With his first feature – Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) – Soderbergh created an instant indie classic.  Although he has had a few misses along the way, he helped George Clooney become a “real” actor with Out of Sight (1998); won a Best Director Oscar for 2000’s phenomenal Traffic; had enormous successes with the caper trilogy that began with Ocean’s Eleven (2001); went deeply back into his indie roots to create the mysterious Bubble (2005); brought us the delightful comedy The Informant! (2009); and showed us Channing Tatum could act and that Matthew McConaughey is finally back to making solid pictures with Magic Mike (2012).  Now he has delivered Side Effects, a terrific thriller rooted in America’s “better living through chemistry” mantra and the relationship between pill-popping patients and pill-prescribing physicians.  It is certainly a high-note on which to end his over 20-year film career or at least bring it to a temporary close while he goes on what I hope is a mere hiatus.

As with any good suspense-driven film, it is difficult to write about Side Effects without giving away information that would ruin everything for you.  As I said, it is set in the world of psychiatry, patients, and pharmaceutical companies, but it is essentially about common dramatic themes including betrayal, trust, truth, greed, success, and failure.  The opening shot shows us the remnants of a bloody attack, though we are given no concrete information and so are easily teased when the screen goes black only to display the words “Three Months Earlier.”  What Soderbergh and his screenwriter Scott Z. Burns offer us over the next 105 minutes is a well-paced and intriguing story of four players’ relationships.

Martin Taylor (Tatum) is a recently-released prisoner who spent four years behind bars for insider trading.  His young, similarly attractive wife is Emily (Rooney Mara).  Although it is Martin we are told will need a sort of reintroduction to life “on the outside,” it is his unstable wife who has trouble coping with their circumstances.  When she winds up in the emergency room due to an “accident,” she receives a psych consult, and thus she and we are introduced to Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law).  When she comes under his care, the final major player appears in the form of her former psychiatrist, Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones).  With them in place, the film deceptively lulls us into a false sense of security – a feeling that we know where this Emily-on-pills story is going.  When you think you have a handle on things, Soderbergh and Burns begin throwing wrenches into the otherwise formulaic setup and ratcheting up the craziness (pun both intended and not intended), particularly as the focus settles on Emily and Dr. Banks’ relationship as well as the violent act that created the bloody pan-and-scan opening the film.

I refuse to say more about the film’s mysteries and machinations other than this:  the plot is driven by the seemingly simple act of Banks prescribing Emily antidepressants.  It may not be much on which to hang a suspense film’s hat, but not only is this act perfectly suited to driving this particular plot, it makes the movie immediately relatable to American audiences.  Almost everything hinges upon our recognition of our prescription-for-everything culture.  The wonderful Soderbergh choices we have grown accustomed to (he also photographed and edited the film under pseudonyms) and Burns’ mostly taut script are enhanced by Law and Mara’s performances.  Although both are essential to the film’s success – and Law is quite, quite good – it is Mara who has the more difficult part to play and she absolutely nails it.  From her memorable role in The Social Network and her extraordinary turn in the English version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to her work here, Rooney Mara has cemented her status as an amazing new talent.  While the film’s twists and turns may seem too slick for some, I reiterate that Law and Mara’s controlled performances raise the overall effect to deliver a first-rate thriller.  I know we are only five weeks in, but with the dearth of noteworthy films released early in a year, Side Effects is one you should not miss.  You can feel good about showing Soderbergh some love as he leaves the stage and takes a bow.