Side Effects

[4.0 stars] [IMDb Link]

[Amazon Link]
(paid link)

Just when you think they don’t make movies like this anymore, they go ahead and make a movie like this. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, who I swear was operating under the spooky influence of Alfred Hitchcock.

[The less you know about the plot, the better; so don’t read the following couple paragraphs.]

Rooney Mara plays Emily, wife of Martin (Channing Tatum). Despite Martin’s imprisonment for insider trading, Emily’s there waiting for him when he gets out. But she’s got lingering serious mental problems. Compassionate shrink Dr. Banks (Jude Law) prescribes one ineffective medication after another, finally hitting on Ablixa. It works wonders for Emily, but does it have … side effects?

Well, sure it does. That’s the name of the movie.

A dandy thriller, competently made. One cliché I noticed, which I’ll put in mouse-over white: When a major actor in a movie appears to be underutilized, he or she will turn out to be the surprise villain. You can still be surprised if you don’t think about this too hard.


Last Modified 2024-01-27 12:51 PM EDT