Side Effects
2013
***
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Vinessa Shaw, Ann Dowd, Polly Draper, Mamie Gummer, Michael Nathanson, Laila Robins
A young woman is prescribed a new experimental drug for her depression. When she commits a shocking crime while under its influence, her dishonoured psychiatrist becomes suspicious. Steven Soderbergh's smooth film starts as an intriguing drama about ethics, overmedication, and pharmaceutical corruption, but it gradually morphs into a more conventional thriller involving murder and deceit. Although it's all compelling and entertaining stuff, Scott Z. Burns' script covers the what and how but not the why. Rooney Mara gives a strong performance, though.
