If you asked me what I am afraid of, I’m likely to mention exotic spiders, being lost at sea or losing my phone. Now I can add going to the doctor’s office.

The psychological thriller “Side Effects” reminds us that our greatest dangers are usually the most unpredictable. The film follows Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), a young newlywed that struggles with depression after her wealthy husband Martin (Channing Tatum), goes to jail for insider trading. Upon Martins release five years later, Emily descends into a deranged sedation after becoming addicted to a new drug prescribed by her psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law).

Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns both do a great job making you think twice about the newest and most advance medication that is supposed to help us with our mental and emotional ailments. In the same way that Soderbergh and Burn’s 2011 film “Contagion,” made common human interaction terrifying. This film puts the audiences’ anxiety in the hands of trusted medical professionals.

Mara’s character weaves in and out of conscious when she begins to take pills to counteract, leaving her zombie like. She trudged through her sedated state and marched happily through consciousness showcasing the full cycle of the pills effects. Tatum’s performance as a white collar convict is believable but nothing more than that. Law’s character spirals into his own madness due to stress and overwork in such a way that begs to ask the question: who are more unbalanced, doctors or patients?

The film concludes with a twist ending that I found scandalous and a little improbable, but not as improbable as my fear of being bitten by an Amazonian spider in Sacramento.

Overall, the movie was entertaining with an original plot. Side effects of watching this film include an appreciation of your own sanity, enhanced fear of bathroom cabinets and a crush on a sleep-walking Rooney Mara. 

 

Anthony can be reached at: [email protected]