Michael Ledo
Emily (Rooney Mara) is clinically depressed. She has been seeing a psychologist (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Her white collar criminal husband (Channing Tatum) is getting out of jail, which leads to more depression. Having failed a suicide attempt, Emily is placed on medication and does the unthinkable. At this point the film goes into an odd mystery/thriller, one where everyone knows who done it. Just when you think you have it figured out, it twists, having more twists than Taylor Swift having break-up songs. Jude Law plays Dr. Jonathan Banks, a man caught in the middle of all of this.I didn't know what to expect going into this feature. It is best not to read the reviews as it is impossible to write anything without giving away too much of the plot. If you like mystery thrillers with twists and clues that hurt your head like a Hitchcock masterpiece, this one will fit the bill. If you know anyone who takes meds for depression, then you can enjoy the film on a different level.Parental Guide: F-bombs, sex, very brief nudity (Rooney Mara)
richard-fieldhouse
Initially this film seems like a fairly straight indictment of an overly commercial drugs industry as a woman on anti-depressants kills her husband shortly after his release from prison for insider trading. As the story unfolds, though, the issues become more nuanced. Rooney Mara puts in a good performance as the depressed wife, Emily Taylor. Jude Law is also strong in the part of the struggling doctor whose life is thrown into turmoil after prescribing the new drug and who cannot quite accept that all is as it seems. Once the film is over, though, and the plot played through to its conclusion, things seem somehow unsatisfactory. The characters don't feel quite right and inconsistencies niggle in my mind. Ultimately, I feel a little cheated. Could things really have happened like this? I'm not convinced.
midas-jacobs
"Side Effects" is about Emily Taylor, whose husband gets out of jail. But, she gets depressed. Herefor she goes to a doctor called John Banks. After they meet, everything starts to go hill, and the doctor gets involved in things he didn't want to...This movie is directed by Steven Soderbergh. He has directed some good movies, "Traffic" for example, but also some bad ones like "Haywire", that movie was just laughable, even the fight scenes. I've just seen a bit of that movie and it was funny as heck. But let me tell you something about this movie. This movie is one of his good ones. He did a fantastic job at directing it, and I really like his style. The cinematography was also fantastic. Every shot looked pretty. This wasn't only done by the cameramen, of course, this also came thanks to the wonderful director. Als the color choices helped with this. The use of focus was also fantastic. In the scene where John tells Emily that she get's some kind of drug in her system, to test if she's lying. Well, in that scene it's used very good, it gives you the view that Emily would have had; everything feels like it's fading away, yet the thing you focus on is still there. The soundtrack, done by Thomas Newman. Props to him, because he made every tense scene become more tense, and the feel of the movie really got created by the music. The editing too was great. I very much liked the switch when the car hit the wall in the beginning of the movie. It felt abrupt, but gave you a little shock, and again, the camera, lighting and coloring were great to in this scene.The acting overall was good. The main character of "Side Effects" is, like I said, Emily Taylor. A girl with a depression, as us is told in the beginning of the movie. Emily was played by Rooney Mara. A great actress overall, but in this movie she really sells it. She was scary near the end, how emotionless, yet powerful she was. Her character was very intriguing and interesting. She was one of my favorite characters. Rooney was fantastic. But around the middle of the movie the protagonist changes, and now the doctor becomes the main character. This is John Banks. He was played by Jude Law. I haven't seen a lot of his movies, but by his performance in this movie alone I can say without a doubt that he is one fantastic actor. I actually liked him more than Rooney, and I think that he acted way better too. He was in fact the best actor in this movie, in my opinion. Channing Tatum played the husband of Emily. He is one of the problems i have with "Side Effects". His character wasn't well developed at all. But more on that later. His acting was fine. The acting capability of Tatum isn't great, but this was good for him. Another bigger role was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. She played the first psychiatrist where Emily went to. She was good too. The supporting cast was also quiet good. There were some exceptions that weren't great, but they didn't really have an impact on my viewing experience. Just someone I want to mention in the part of my review is the actress of Johns wife. She was very good, and that's why I think I should mention her. She was played by Vinessa Shaw.The writing/script was the star of this movie. It was one well written movie, I can tell you that. The dialogue was interesting to listen to, and you were wondering what would happen next. The story was also constructed very well. You were continuously guessing what was really going on, sometimes I thought that John might have mental problems himself. It was a very fun experience. Another thing that I liked, was the tension. In most movies they try to create this with shaky cam, to cover up the bad movie, or they try to do it with a bunch of action. In this movie, though, they do it with a fantastic script. The directing and music of course help with this to, but mostly the things they say move the story, and make you sit on the edge of your seat. The characters were well developed, and we get to know them through the story, but only one character doesn't get developed that much, and this is Channing Tatums character. He gets killed of in the middle of the movie, by Emily. You were supposed to be sad that he died, but you didn't get to know him well enough. I was shocked in that scene though, not thanks to the death, but thanks to the killer, because it was very unexpected. The twist in the ending was also fun, and well thought true. And before I forget to mention, the rest of the characters were in fact well developed, only Tatums wasn't. Just to be clear.Thanks for reading this review. It was a very good movie, except for Tatums character, and that costs the movie half a point for me.9.5/10
