UK Release date: 8 March 2013
French Release date: 3 April 2013
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Clémence:
Feeling
a bit down? Let me offer you a pill!
Key words : Ablixa, psychiatry, perversity,
deception, denunciation, money.
The plot is as
follows: a young woman (Rooney Mara) whose husband (Channing Tatum) is just out
of prison becomes depressed and sees her world falling apart after a brand-new
antidepressant prescribed by her psychiatrist (Jude Law) has unexpected and
dreadful side effects. Is that really it, though? One thing is certain: the
psychiatrist has to face the consequences of his patient’s actions and try and
clear his name.
I found the
intrigue clever and nicely packaged and the actors excellent. I had never seen
Rooney Mara in a film before, but she is perfect in this role and steals the
show to lead actor Jude Law, who is nevertheless as good as usual. Channing
Tatum’s presence on the film poster is superfluous in my opinion, because his
character is clearly just a prop that allows for the story to develop.
Catherine Zeta-Jones delivers a good performance as Rooney Mara’s previous
shrink.
In Side Effects, almost everybody cheats
and bends the rules to match their own best interests. Morality is secondary,
at best. Money is what matters. It is a clear denunciation of the
pharmacological world. It also sheds light on the current state of America,
addicted to antidepressants and anxiolytics, and where everybody seems to have
some pills in their pocket and to be unbeatable at antidepressant names. The
United States appear as an over-stressful world: many people seek medication to
be able to keep going and luckily (really?) find compliant doctors ready to
provide them with drugs.
If you like
twisted thrillers filled with suspense, I would strongly advice you go and see Side Effects. Even if you do not
especially like twisted thrillers filled with suspense, go and see it anyway,
you won’t regret it. It is captivating and brilliantly interpreted.
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