'Side Effects,' Steven Soderbergh's fourth movie in the past two years following 'Contagion,' 'Haywire' (my debut review on this blog!) and 'Magic Mike,' is a psychiatric thriller of the first order, an intense, suspense-filled humdinger that toys with our minds as much as it entertains us. Since his breakthrough 'Sex, Lies and Videotape,' Soderbergh had proven again and again that he is very good indeed when it comes to developing characters with depth and putting them through complex, often morally questionable situations. He is once again in top form with 'Side Effects,' reportedly his last movie before entering retirement (though I sure hope not).
Like a master magician, Soderbergh pulls a sleight-of-hand with the unsuspecting audience in 'Side Effects.' The movie first comes off as an examination and indictment of our reliance on pills to make us feel happy, thanks to the ease with which prescription drugs can be obtained due to the reprehensible marriage between the medical community and the pharmaceutical industry a la' 'Prozac Nation.' Then it segues into a labyrinthine, multi-layered Hitchkockian suspense thriller with enough convoluted twists and "who's playing who?" deceptions to make Keyser Soze's head spin. "Who is Keyser Soze?" you ask? Google it, I say.
A movie like 'Side Effects' requires characters that would suck us in, to totally engross us in their actions and motivations. Rooney Mara ('The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo') and Jude Law provided strong performances as the movie's central characters, Emily Taylor and Dr. Jonathan Banks. Much of what makes the movie so riveting was due to their ability to make their characters so believably intense.
Enough said. I will not give anything else away. Go see this movie already. What are you waiting for?
Grade: A
Warning: Side effects of watching this movie may include a sense of vertigo due to the movie's various plot twists.
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