Jude Law continues to demonstrate a superbly developed sense of naturalism he is one of the most underrated actors of his generation, delivering one knock-out performance after another while being largely taken for granted. None of this, of course, is the fault of the cast. For a director whose past works have included Out of Sight (1998), Traffic (2000), and Erin Brockovich (2000), it is frankly an embarrassment. Characters behave against their established natures in order to reach this poor conclusion. Earlier complexities are blown away by a nasty sensationalist streak that is not only unconvincing but visibly impossible. There is initially an open question over who is to blame: Banks, the pharmaceutical company, the psychiatrist (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who puts Banks onto the drug, or even Emily herself – who may not have been entirely truthful when treated for her depression.Īll of this potential is ultimately squandered in a film that peaks at the end of its second act, and then goes for cheap and lazy options – not to mention unrealistic ones – in its climax. In Side Effects Emily is prescribed an experimental new drug that Banks has been encouraged to promote, and it results in a shocking tragedy. It is a thin line between outright paying doctors – which is illegal – and enriching them with free travel, conference and academic paper opportunities, and even consulting fees as a part of the process. It is an area rich with possibilities for storytelling, given the enormous amounts of money involved and the potential for corruption, mis-prescription, and even loss of life. Given the calibre of its director and lead cast, its poor quality makes it actively enraging.Īt the centre of Side Effects is the issue of pharmaceutical companies enticing medical consultants and physicians to promote and prescribe their drugs in the field. That actually makes the film more frustrating than anything: rather than simply being bad, it sets itself up to be genuinely great and then crudely disappoints. It promises its audience a fair amount, but then fails to deliver. Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects is a medically-centred thriller that promises to be one kind of film before taking a sharp turn into being a second – and much less interesting – kind. Banks prescribes a new type of anti-depressant, with unexpected and tragic consequences. After making a suicide attempt, Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) – whose husband (Channing Tatum) has just returned home from a four-year prison term – falls under the care of psychiatrist Jon Banks (Jude Law).
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