Side Effects (2013)

Side Effects (R) - Review

"A pharmacological thriller"

When a young married woman whose life has been turned upside down is involved in a possible suicide attempt, her new psychiatrist perscribes the latest anti-depressant on the market, with murderous results.

Director Steve Soderbergh's (Ocean 11) newest and possible final Hollywood film before retirement finds him in rare form.  Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) is the gal, Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street) is her just released from prison for blue collar crime husband.  Jude Law (Contagion) is her overworked psychiatrist while Catherine Zeta-Jones (Traffic) is her former doctor and consulting physician.  Its a twisted, knotted thriller in a Hitchcockian vein about human nature, capitalism and how we allow the pharmaceutical industry to change it and our bodies.

The film looks great and slick like most of Steven's productions.  There are no car chases, no action sequences and unlike his previous effort Contagion (which tried just a bit too much with too little to work on), the simple shooting style and budget won't detract from being immersed in a fantastic script and great acting.

It has you second guessing motivations, seeking the truth along with the good doctor who ends up on the wrong end of a media firestorm after his past, patients, lifestyles and medical advice are put to question.  Surprisingly the movie's motives are not an obvious drubbing of the medication age and its practices;  instead that is a subtly slow IV drip in the background to feed and intensify the deadly tension (wrung masterfully out of the material by Soderbergh).  The modern drug culture is the oily swamp these character's world floats on top of, a vast expanse of frightening consequences that they mire through without thought. Call it "Pill Noir",

(Side Effects may be too slow for some audiences, please consult your inner critic.  An increased risk of entertainment and smart writing may lead to confusion or questions about who the viewer should be rooting for.  Sudden unexpected loss of a character may occur at any time, if you experience any blurriness in vision you are probably sitting too close to the screen.  Use only as recommended (which it is).

8 Black Widows out of 10 (GREAT)