I wish this wasn’t Steven Soderbergh’s last film. Oh well.
That said, Side Effects is a (to quote Mallory Archer) a taut, sexy thriller.
Rooney Mara is married to Channing Tatum who is in prision for insider trading. She’s under medication for depression related whatever and is nervous about him getting released. Living with him drives her to change her medication and she promptly smashes into a wall with her car at 40 mph.
So she gets Jude Law as a therapist and changes meds again. The new meds kill her sex drive. She consults with Jude and changes again, now her sex drive is working but she sleepwalks. Sometimes she stabs people in her sleep. So is it the drugs to blame? Can you be held responsible for sleep walking murder?
Even though I’ve told you the plot, the movie isn’t what you think it is. It’s got Soderburgh’s master touch and you’ll never know where it’s going until you’re there and horrified.
Solid film. Worth seeing in the theater.