Steven Soderbergh first came to prominence in 1989 with his acclaimed drama of human analysis SEX, LIES & VIDEOTAPE, which launched Andie MacDowell into the upper levels of stardom.
With his acclaimed multi-layered drug drama TRAFFIC, Soderbergh became a talent who could mix and match good performances with a great and complex script and by 2013, he was a master of it, as seen in the psychological thriller SIDE EFFECTS.
Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE SOCIAL NETWORK) is a seemingly happy wife to Martin (Channing Tatum, STEP UP) who has just been released from prison due to tax fraud. However, she is suffering from bouts of depression, which manifest themselves when she crashes her car against a wall at full speed in an underground car park.
A doctor, Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) is curious about Emily, which becomes even more so when she stabs her husband whilst sleepwalking. Bank’s wife, Deirdre (Vinessa Shaw, EYES WIDE SHUT) is understandably concerned about his growing obsession with Emily as her condition gets more and more complicated. Banks seeks the help of a former psychologist, Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones), which begins to reveal a whole lot more about this particular case study….
There is a very complex web of ideas at the heart of SIDE EFFECTS, focusing on the true effects of medication, coupled with some excellent performances from the quartet of leads. Thanks to Scott Z. Burns’ screenplay, it is a movie you definitely want to keep your eyes on and listen to, which leads to a very satisfying conclusion.