With Steven Soderbergh reportedly leaving his director’s chair soon, he puts out one of the very best films of his career with the gripping psychological thriller Side Effects.

 

Recent reports have said that over 10% of the American population is now living life under some type of anti-depressant.  Side Effects is one of the few films to explore this relatively new aspect to current society.  We join the story with Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) picking up her just-released husband Martin (Channing Tatum) from prison.  Martin has just served 4 years for insider trading, and Emily waited for him to return.  They go home to their small apartment, where Martin assures her he will soon be able to build back the life of luxury they had become accustomed to prior to his arrest.

 

Unfortunately, the culture shock is too much for Emily to bare as she becomes increasingly despondent, and in a moment of pure depression she speeds her car into a brick wall in an effort to escape the hell she now feels her life is.  Here is where we meet Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), who immediately prescribes some medications to Emily in order to give her some relief and hope she can begin to heal.  The side effects of the medication hits her immediately.  Her sex drive is gone, she has trouble sleeping and becomes very difficult for Martin to even have a conversation with her.    She returns to Dr. Banks, who then speaks with Emily’s previous psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and they decide together to prescribe a new (and fictional) trial medication named Ablixa for Emily.  It is no coincidence that Dr. Banks has also just signed a contract where he will get kickbacks for prescribing Ablixa to his patients and conducting a study on it’s effects for the pharmaceutical company that produces it.

 

At first, it seems like Emily has found her miracle drug, as she begins to feel happier and her sex drive has returned with a fury, making Martin extremely happy as well.  Since Ablixa is a combination of an anti-depressant and a sleep aid, her sleeping problems fade as well, except for the occasional sleep-walking episode.  This side effect, however leads to an extremely tragic act that will shake the world of Emily,  Martin and Dr. Banks.  All of this occurs within the first 30 minutes of the film.  The film then turns from a dramatic exploration of medicating depression into an intense psychological thriller.  I will not go any further with a plot synopsis as to avoid any spoilers.

 

Side Effects is the third collaborated effort of Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns following The Informant! and Contagion, and it is no mystery as to why these are 3 of Soderbergh’s finest works.  Burns wrote the script for Side Effects after being terrified from an accidental Ambien-induced blackout (interestingly enough for a meeting with Soderbergh) and it is clear that he held a personal connection to the story.    Soderbergh and Burns definitely have a connection, and if Soderbergh reconsiders his impending retirement after his alleged swansong Behind The Candelabra, I really hope these 2 team up again.

One thing I love about what this film does is show that finding an anti-depressant to use is a very hit-or-miss prospect.  As someone who was previously under SSRI medication, I definitely remember the frustration of going through medication after medication that would make you a shell of your former self and feel just awful before finally, after several months, finding a medication that works for that individual.  Dr. Banks was also a very realistic psychiatrist who at times let furthering his career outweigh his responsibility to help his patient.

 

The acting in this film is superb.  Rooney Mara follows up her Academy Award-nominating performance in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with an equally remarkable performance.  It is clear that she will have a very long and successful career ahead of her.  Jude Law is always excellent, and he performs incredibly here as the very flawed Dr. Banks.  It is refreshing that Soderbergh has returned to using seasoned actors instead of trying to turn athletes into one like last year’s abysmal Haywire.  A few years ago I would not have guessed I could shower such praise on Channing Tatum, but he was also excellent here and is quickly becoming the next heartthrob-turned-great-actor.

 

Conclusion [9.5 out of 10]

This film is very intense, and I fear that the marketing will hurt it’s box office as many people will believe it is a very subtle and slow-moving drama.  It is very rare that such a great film is released in the first quarter of the year, and I really hope that this one does not slip through the cracks.  If you have ever taken anti-depressants or  just know somebody who has, this film will definitely hit close to home, and maybe even a little too close to home. It is extremely early, but Side Effects is very easily the best film so far in 2013.  If Soderbergh does hang it up as he has said, then he is definitely going out at the top of his game.