As I sat down to watch the film “Side Effects”, a torn feeling took over my body. On one hand, Steve Soderbergh is one of my favorite directors and continues to create quality films. On the other hand, I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the medical aspects of the film. But after the film ended, I was happy to realize my worries were put to bed.
“Side Effects” tells the story of Emily Taylor, played by the phenomenal Rooney Mara, a young woman who continues to struggle with depression. After an apparent suicide attempt, Emily is sent to Dr. Jonathan Banks, played by Jude Law. Dr. Banks prescribes her a new anti-depressant to suppress her feelings of hopelessness, and that’s when things get crazy. The story takes so many twists and turns that I found myself piecing certain parts together after the film was over. Screenwriter Scott Z.
Burns did a great job of developing each character and also showing the best and worst of each character. The writing is able to slowly tell the story and keeps you involved throughout. This causes the audience to think about the next step that is coming for these characters, and then one twist after another comes along. But with every film that has great writing, you must have even better acting.
The shining star of the film is Rooney Mara. You may have heard her name previously for her role in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. Her performance in “Side Effects” is equally incredible. She is able to disappear into that character and provide a complexity to the entire story. Along with great performances by Jude Law, Channing Tatum, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, “Side Effects” has a very strong ensemble casts.
Director Steve Soderbergh has a significant style that has been consistent with most of his films. His use of wide angles is very different
compared to most directors.
He also makes slight changes to make the audience focus on the actors. For example, most of the film has a blurry background, especially when there are two actors on the screen. Throughout the film, Soderbergh breaks some fundamental film directing rules, but he is able to do it in a way that makes the film great.
Overall, “Side Effects” embodies what a psychological thriller should be. Some compare the film to the works of legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, which is a very fair comparison. The film makes you think and is able to own your attention 106 minutes.
