Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Pjtaylor-96-138044 'Side Effects (2013)' takes around an hour to start to show its true colours, with its two halves separated by a gradual yet distinct shift in perspective. When it becomes the twisty psychological thriller it was always intended to be, it is much more entertaining and its third act is marked by an almost nasty sense of entrapment as our new protagonist wrangles the situation to his advantage, constantly skirting the edge of likeability as he deals with a character we were previously asked to heavily empathise with. In the end, the floaty direction, quietly delivered dialogue and almost dream-like editing come together to form a nearly comatose, sleepy feel that is intentional (to mirror the drug-riddled life of the first half's focal character) but should have been shed when our perspective was shifted to that of the psychiatrist. The direction never keeps up with the story, in the sense that it continues to feel hazy despite the doctor's clear and increasingly erratic demeanour, which creates an odd divide between the technical and the conceptual. Alongside this, the plot and its various revelations aren't played as a puzzle to be unravelled but, rather, as separate blindsiding reveals, which makes a second viewing almost identical to the first, equally enjoyable but devoid of any details that could hint at what's to come or enhance the experience in any way, which is a missed opportunity. It's also probably one of the most forgettable, yet decent, films I've ever seen. 7/10

frukuk If this film is essentially about Dr Banks' loss of control and whether he can regain it, then the film fails because he never really seriously loses control.To care about whether Dr Banks can regain control, I needed to see and really feel that he'd lost control, but I never did. I'm not sure if this is down to the script, the direction or Jude Law's performance; but the whole film is rather unaffecting, so it seems to be more of a systemic issue (e.g. script and/or direction).Overall, things felt rather pre-ordained, as if each character was simply doing what was necessary to move the plot along to the required conclusion.

Antonius Block This movie will sneak up on you. I have to say first, I advise not knowing anything about it before watching it, or as little as possible. In the spirit of that sentiment, I will keep this brief. The movie starts off slowly, with a young woman (Rooney Mara) suffering from depression and seeking medication. Just bear with it. Soderbergh is sly in his pacing and how he unfolds the story, and as questions inevitably turn to her psychiatrist (Jude Law) and precisely what happened after she takes the pills, the film reminds one of a very solid Hitchcock film. Suspense and tension are created in cerebral ways, without a lot of over-the-top action, which is a pleasure to see. Mara and Law help considerably with that as they both turn in good performances, as does Catherine Zeta-Jones, despite her lesser screen time. Very well made, and definitely worth watching.

freemantle_uk From the minds of Steven Soderbergh and Scott Z. Burns is the psychological thriller Side Effects, using the world of psychiatry and American healthcare as its setting.Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) is a woman suffering from depression whose husband (Channing Tatum) is released from prison for inner trader. After a suicide attempt Emily goes to see a psychiatrist, Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) who prescripts her a new antidepressant. But the antidepressant has side effects and after Emily commits a crime and Dr. Banks' life starts to fall apart because of it. Yet Banks suspects foul play and has to play detective to figure out the truth.Running at 100 minutes Side Effects is a taut little thriller that twists and turns constantly, turning from a drama about mental issue to a legal drama and finally the detective story. Rooney Mara was absolutely brilliant as Emily suffering the quiet despair of depression, having a distance look on her face, keeping her problems to herself as she contemplates ending it all. It was brilliant portrayal of someone suffering from the condition and along with her performance in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo shows how great an actress she is and how is able about to encapsulate characters will issues.Side Effects starts as a drama about mental issues and evolves into a thriller. Soderbergh and Burns make sure there are many different avenues and plot threats to keep us guessing. Ideas introduced into the film is Dr. Banks being overworked, Banks being paid by a pharmaceutical companies to trial drugs and having his own issues ahead of his patients and a corporate conspiracy. The theme of people with depression are really just given a cocktail of drugs to treat their condition instead of actually looking for any long term cure and how people in mental health wards are stigmatised and how their behaviour is interpreted differently in those conditions.Side Effects shares a premise with the legal thriller Primal Fear where Banks has to figure out what was the cause of the crime and whether Emily is telling the truth about her condition.Side Effects is supposedly meant to be Soderbergh's last film. If it turns out to be true then at least with Side Effects that is a smart thriller that has plenty of mainstream appeal.