Side Effects (2013): ****

Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) has been feeling anxious and depressed; the return of her incarcerated husband Martin (Channing Tatum) and general upheaval in her life hasn’t been helping. Emily turns to psychiatrist Dr Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) for help after a suicide attempt, Dr Banks prescribes Emily medication but to no avail. After consulting with Emily’s previous psychiatrist Dr Seibert (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Dr Banks gives Emily a new drug called Ablixa to try. At first, it appears to be working but an incident occurs which flings Emily and Dr Banks into a nightmarish situation. 

Side Effects has a fascinating first act in which we follow Emily’s mental disruption, caused by the myriad of medication she tries and her circumstances. One of the most effective scenes in the film is during a boat party Emily and Martin attend. Emily is on edge, her eyes are fliting around and she catches a glimpse of her face in the bar’s mirror. It is disfigured, completely unreal and yet, for a brief moment, it is the real reflection looking back at Emily and the audience. This exploration of Emily’s depression is intriguing as is the shadowy deals between doctors and pharmaceutical companies; it could have easily been Side Effects’s sole focus. However, Scott Z. Burns’s script goes in a different direction for the subsequent acts, down the path of a thriller. Although it does become far-fetched in places and a bit predictable once it starts to head down that path, Side Effects is still an engaging enough thriller. I did take issue with the reveal of a lesbian relationship between two characters, which did not add any depth to their relation but rather undermined it, reducing certainly one of the characters to a negative stereotype. 

Steven Soderbergh’s (under the pseudonym ‘Peter Andrews’) cinematography is understated and stylish. Soderbergh uses high-angles, tracking shots, and slowly revolves around the characters, creating an intimate, claustrophobic atmosphere. Medication bottles are ominously lingered over; pills are pops of colour in the palms of hands. Sickly greens and yellows seem to be Emily’s main colour motif, whilst Dr Banks’s is a clinical blue. Thomas Newman’s score is hypnotic and heady, full of ambience created from guitars, bells and electronic beats.  

Rooney Mara does a fantastic job as Emily Taylor, who is trying to remain composed as the strains of her life start to crack her façade open. Mara has a compelling on-screen presence, contrasting her character Emily’s cool calmness with her fretfulness and anger. Jude Law is remarkable as Dr Banks, the compassionate yet ethically compromised psychiatrist. Law manages to capture Banks’s hypocritical and cunning nature. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Dr. Seibert fairly well, although Zeta-Jones is overshadowed by Mara and Law. Channing Tatum also does well as Martin, although his screen-time is short-lived.

The prognosis for Side Effects is strong, thanks to Soderbergh’s direction and a solid cast, despite being uneven in places and a questionable choice by Burns.