Runtime: 1 hr, 45 minutes
Rating: R
Directors: Steven Soderbergh
Quick Impressions:
The parasomnias fascinate me.
My sister sleepwalks. Growing up, we shared a bathroom, so her sleepwalking made getting ready in the morning extra exciting. In times of high stress, she would regularly sleepwalk into the bathroom, unscrew the lids from all the bottles, jars, and tubes, and then leave said lidless containers precariously balanced on the edges of counters and cabinets, the toilet, the bathtub.
Every time you stepped into the shower, you never knew if your morning shampoo would be chased by an unexpected Listerine rinse. It was all very exciting.
I, personally, have the opposite problem—sleep paralysis, where your mind wakes up, but your body keeps sleeping, causing your nightmares to appear before your eyes.
So she has more adventures, and I save money on toiletries. It all balances out, I suppose. We both grind our teeth.
The vague-but-tantalizing premise of Side Effects intrigued me. I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to see it, but it seemed more promising than the over-hyped Identity Thief. (When the marketing campaign gets hyper-aggressive like that, the movie is usually disappointing. I do like Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, though, so I may see it in the future.)
The Good:
I don’t want to ruin the movie, so that doesn’t leave much for me to talk about. Side Effects is one of the better movies of its kind I’ve seen because it really, genuinely surprised me.
The movie worked for the reasons that movies usually do work—a great script, capable direction, talented actors. Rooney Mara, in particular, makes Side Effects a success. If she had been less convincing in the part, the whole thing would have fallen apart into a disappointing mess. Watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I thought, Yes, this girl is convincing as Lisbeth Salander, but can she do anything else? Is she putting her own stamp on the character, or is this just what Rooney Mara is actually like?
Now I know. Rooney Mara actually is a good actress. She has to be.
I’ve been longing for more Jude Law since I saw him turn in what was undoubtedly the strongest performance in Anna Karenina. He’s great here, and in some ways, his performance is as important as Mara’s since if he loses our sympathy, the audience will check out too soon.
Catherine Zeta-Jones has such amazing energy. She just stands still and seems to project an entire three-ring circus. I’m not sure how she does that. (I’m also not sure that she can control it, but maybe she doesn’t need to.) Occasionally, it does seem to work against her because she’s not so great at being inconspicuous (not that her character is supposed to be). Still, she delivers a fine performance, too, and fans of hers should be pleased that she finally has a meaty part in a good movie. (She and Tom Cruise were both very memorable in Rock of Ages—as were Paul Giamatti and Alec Baldwin—but through no fault of their own, that movie kind of collapsed around them.) If you’ve been waiting for Zeta-Jones to have a strong role in a well written movie again then you’re going to love Side Effects.
Channing Tatum really won me over in 21 Jump Street, and the first half of Magic Mike was pretty compelling, too. (I’m not bashing the second half. I just didn’t see it because of a power outage at the theater.) Part of what convinced me to see Side Effects was curiosity about what Tatum would be up to in this reteaming with his Magic Mike director. (The answer is, not much.) He’s very convincing as a loving husband finishing up a prison sentence for insider trading because—what else would Channing Tatum be in prison for? Impersonating a model on the cover of a romance novel? The only more plausible thing for him to be doing in prison is guest starring in a fantasy sequence inside the head of an inmate. Insider trading charges fit him perfectly. His whole look screams, I’m white, pretty, entitled, and destined to make millions rather shiftlessly. Tatum doesn’t really get much opportunity to show off his acting skills in this movie, but Steven Soderbergh should be commended for best use of Channing Tatum.
I was also taken with the supporting work of Polly Draper as Emily’s boss. For some reason, I just really loved her. I don’t know why. She’s not in the movie all that much. She’s just very convincing in the part. Ann Dowd is also good as Martin’s mother. And I recognized Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter)! She barely has anything to do at all, but she does help make the moment she’s in one of the most compelling in the movie to that point.
By now, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I haven’t said a word about the plot of this movie.
Well, the less said, the better. It all centers on the side effects of medications used to treat mental illness (in this case, depression). I suppose you’d call it a crime drama set in the world of psychiatry. Saying any more spoils everything.
Best Scene:
The best moment in the movie for me was when I whispered to my husband, “Oh my God!” This movie actually made me do that. Trust me, I see a lot of movies. That hardly ever happens. In general, I think I’m pretty well versed in the world of psychiatric medication and in the world of cinematic suspense. But this time, the movie won.
This probably happened because I was distracted by trying to decide who was morally responsible for what happened in the kitchen—the patient, the doctor, the pharmaceutical industry—and what steps ought to be taken legally. Psychiatric medication is an important topic for me. And there is no medication without side effects.
So I suppose the scene in the kitchen is probably the best one that I can safely mention here. Rooney Mara’s performance there is perfect.
Funniest Scene:
There’s a cruel humor in the end of the movie, but for the most part this film is not very funny. The last half is pretty exhilarating to watch, nonetheless.
Best Action Sequence:
The event in the parking garage changes the direction of the movie for the first time. Watching it made my neck hurt. (Then I realized, We’re sitting too close to the screen, and we actually moved to higher seats. I don’t think I’ve ever done that after a movie has started before.)
But probably my favorite action sequence is when Jude Law’s character gets whacked over the head. That really shouldn’t happen. It’s a delightful moment when tension breaks, and we see which characters have the most intense emotional problems.
The Negatives:
Until the major turn in the movie, I was pretty disengaged. Watching someone with depression is kind of…well…depressing. When it comes to major psychiatric problems, medication can’t be avoided forever, and side effects are awful.
And then the movie seemed to hit a wall. I kept thinking, Where can this possibly go from here? There’s nowhere left to take it.
Now, possibly if I were less invested in the world of psychiatric medication, I would have anticipated what was about to happen a little sooner.
In the end, the film was brilliant—captivating and lots of fun (in a bizarre way). And for a film in a theater, that works. But if I were flipping through channels at home, I might have kept right on flipping and missed the turn that led to brilliance.
Another slight problem with the concept is that there are really only four stars in this movie. So once things start to unravel, it’s not too hard to see where they’re going to lead. (Fortunately, though, the movie doesn’t make you wait long at that point.)
Overall:
Side Effects has a slow start but an exhilarating (and surprising) second half that makes the whole thing worth it in the end. I’d recommend it without reservation to anyone old enough to watch R rated movies (just be aware that it takes a long time to get started). It’s a really entertaining movie, and compared to most February releases, it is the greatest masterpiece of all time.