‘Side Effects’ may include your mind being blown

Photo by Barry Wetcher.
Photo by Barry Wetcher.

By Steven Cayer, Contributor

5/5

It seems like there’s a pill for everything these days. Most of these pills, if not all, have certain side effects. Director Steven Soderbergh grabbed hold of that idea and now we have Side Effects (released February 8).

This psychological thriller stars a pretty sexy cast: Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Channing Tatum. I really can’t in good conscience tell you the plot of this movie because there are so many twists and turns that I don’t want to cross the invisible line and ruin this fantastic movie. All I’m going to say is that it’s about a woman named Emily (Mara), who is depressed with her marriage to one Martin (Tatum). Naturally, she is prescribed pills, and they begin to have certain side effects.

One of the things I loved about this movie was the pacing. Throughout the entire movie I never thought about anything else other than what was happening at that moment right in front of me. Soderbergh keeps us guessing in more ways than one in the fact that he’s saying this might be the last movie he directs.  If the fact is true, I am happy that Side Effects was his curtain call.