Side Effects

We live in a society where pills and medication are used to fix all sorts of ailments. It is widely thought that we rely too heavily on them. This film explores that issue.
Steven Soderbergh has said that he is quitting film and moving into television. This disappoints me a lot as he is one of my favourite film directors. So while he will still be making movies, sadly we will not get to see them on the big screen. Steven worked previously with Scott Z. Burns on another medically minded thriller 'Contagion'. That film amplified our fears of disease to a doomsday scenario, this film takes a more intimate approach to our pill obsessed society. I have always been amused by the way that people are informed of the side effects of the medications they take. There are generally so many negative side effects that you would think that they'd out weigh the positives. One of the more interesting side effects that has come about in recent years and is usually associated with sleeping pills like Stilnox is sleep walking. It has been reported that people who took that drug have done things in their sleep they did not realize they were doing. That is a concept which Scott has used to great effect in this film. Another issue that the film explores is when doctors are paid or offered incentives by pharmaceutical corporations to give their patients certain medications. It is one of those things that is inevitable in our society as companies are prepared to do anything to make a profit. Steven has managed to bring these issues and a few others together to make a very entertaining thriller. I like the way Steven has an almost documentary like way that he films the movie so you feel like it has really happened. The film does take an interesting turn towards the end which did lessen the impact but in no way diminished my enjoyment of the film.
Jude Law seems to be going from strength to strength with the choice of films he is making. He makes an effective hero here as you feel a great deal of sympathy for his character and the problems he is going through. Rooney Mara is quite good as the woman trouble, even when her condition changes in the second half of the film. Channing Tatum does not have all that much to do but is still an effective presence on screen. Catherine Zeta-Jones nicely plays the cold hearted bitch role really well.
It may lack some of the thrill that is usually associated with a Steven Soderbergh film, it is still a nice little thriller that proves to be very entertaining.