Side Effects

Starring: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ann Dowd
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Rooney Mara) begins a new drug, but it has unforeseen and dangerous side effects.

Review:

Tim: I always look forward to Steven Soderbergh's films. I do not always love them, but they are always interesting and worthy of conversation. His films are complex, multi-layered, and exciting. Side Effects is a really good, twisting, unexpected film. I found myself caught up in the story and the characters, and I was thrown off by the film's multiple twists. While it's not quite a great movie, this is a really solid, entertaining film.

The basic premise of the film is fascinating- a woman starts taking a new drug to battle her depression. There's unexpected, dangerous side effects. This is a very simple premise, but Soderbergh weaves in many layers of complexity into the story. The film is certainly not an expected, typical story. I loved that about it. Now, with any film containing as many twists and turns as this one will eventually do something controversial. You could certainly pick at some of the unexpected events in this film and complain about the realism of them. There's definitely a few moments that require some suspension of disbelief, but if you can let go of your criticisms, you'll find this is a wildly entertaining, memorable film.

The cast was quite good. I have not been completely blown away by Rooney Mara yet, but I do believe she's coming into her own as an actress. She's still very young, and she is figuring out how to be a great actress. She delivers a strong performance here, and I expect her to keep growing and learning how to be great. She's certainly impressed me early in her career. I wasn't especially excited about the casting of Channing Tatum. I think he's an overrated actor, and was in a bit over his head here. He was clearly the weakest actor of the entire film, but luckily, he has minimal screen time.

Jude Law was a great addition, and I really enjoyed his performance. He's a really, really good actor, and added a great deal to this film. His performance was strong, enjoyable, and yet complex and challenging. At various points, I loved and hated his character. Law made this possible with the depth of his performance. I also loved seeing Catherine Zeta-Jones here. She really needs to do more- I feel like she's been oddly absent from screens the last five years or so. I thought she was good, but doesn't have a great deal of screen time, and almost feels like an afterthought. This movie really belongs to Rooney Mara and Jude Law, and their captivating performances make this film work.

Soderbergh expertly crafts an effective, entertaining film. We quickly identify with and understand the characters, and get swept up in their story. The film allows the audience in, before throwing them for multiple loops as the film progresses. Now, the biggest complaint many people will have is that the story seems less and less believable as the film progresses. I admit this is the case, but it's presented in such a way that I had no problem going along for the ride. In the hands of a lesser director, this film could have been terrible. With Soderbergh, though, this is a film well worth seeing.

2013 is still a fairly young year, and I admit that Side Effects will probably get lost in the shuffle by year's end. However, it is still a very enjoyable, entertaining movie, and I was surprised by how much I liked it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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