Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Steven Soderbergh's
swansong is a slick psychological thriller, packed with conniving
twists and sinister turns. The story centres around Emily (Mara),
whose husband Martin (Chattum) has just been released from jail for
inside trading, must battle crippling depression to adjust to the
change in her life and become the wife he wants her to be. She meets
Dr Banks (Law) as she tries to curb her urges to harm herself through
a number of different medications. The one she settles on lead to
some unexpected side effects, sending her world into turmoil once
more. It is then up to Banks to set everything straight.
Each performance is
strong, with a stand out turn from Law who has not looked so alert
for the best part of a decade. Rooney Mara is also reliably
excellent, providing the right balance of subtlety and sincerity to
derail the audience at every corner. Soderbergh's direction is
reliably excellent, with an understated, murky visual style perfect
for an unpredictable ride.
The key to a successful
thriller is genuine surprises taking the audience in unexpected
directions, which Side Effects achieves with ease. Each time a
direction seems set the narrative changes gears, leaving the audience
reeling, trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle. This leads to
a highly entertaining picture, allowing Soderbergh to leave us with a
fist bump of respect rather than a loud bang. It was puzzling that he
would make Side Effects his final film rather than last
summer's magnificent Magic Mike, yet this seems more
appropriate. For years Soderbergh has been reliable in providing
reliable out put of strong, sturdy films that got the job done with
little fuss. Why bow out on anything different?
4/5
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