Side Effects

After 25 years of filmmaking, Steven Soderbergh has announced his retirement from cinema. Happily, after a seriously mixed bag of offerings (Magic Mike, Haywire, Contagion), Side Effects is not only a slick and smart thriller, but also encapsulates the best of Soderbergh’s style. It’s cold, clinical and disquieting, propelled by interesting characters.

Side Effects begins as an examination of mental illness and the pharmaceutical industry. Rooney Mara plays Emily, a young depressive struggling to cope with her husband’s (Channing Tatum) recent release from prison. Mara glides ghost-like through scenes, capturing both the furiously raging anxiety and deadened hopelessness of depression. Jude Law is her comforting but hardly selfless psychiatrist, who is paid to endorse certain drugs but also believes what he’s selling is the basic right to mental health. But as incessant ads for pharmaceuticals list more (ahem) side-effects than benefits and Emily’s life takes a dark turn, Soderbergh’s social commentary is clear.
Cold, crafty and stylish, Side Effects is a suitable end to a largely impressive directorial career.