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We live in a time when technological progress has enabled us to greatly improve the quality of our lives and their length of them. Suffice it to say that in the 1800s an infant had the same life expectancy as one of his or her paleolithic peers.
But what caused folks to die? accidents, illnesses, and conflicts that couldn't be fixed by rushing to the hospital. Together with unsanitary conditions and a climate that made people susceptible to heatstroke, hypothermia, and other violent natural occurrences.
Through improved sanitation, medicines, and medical care, modernity has contributed to universal wealth, but it has also flooded our homes with processed foods and dangerous substances. Ancient men were slim, strong and free of the chronic illnesses that plague modern men today, like cancer, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
Our era has been the fortune of many pharmaceutical companies, who in the name of medicine and progress have sometimes crossed the line of morality for reasons that are not so noble, such as the god of money.
"Side Effects" is about this, pharmaceutical companies and their unethical practices, mental health, and the legal system.
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In "Side Effects," Rooney Mara's protagonist, battles the plague of depression, which she experiences as a pain of life (her performance is impressive). Yet the disease is only one part of the tragedy; in the fast-paced world of today, a 28-year-old businesswoman can only deal with her weaknesses by turning to dangerous and predictable psychotropic medicines. The movie's characters attend events, go to work, interact with people on the street, and give drugs as gifts or recommendations to friends.
But, the movie turns into a medical thriller when Emily's drug addiction causes her to do something wrong. Who is responsible if a crimina act is perpretrated while under the influence of psychoactive substances? who actually committed the acts of violence? The person itself or the physician who was unable to foresee future events based on past ones?
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The movie is split into two main parts.
The first part is rather slow, illustrating the dramatic situation of the protagonist and allowing us to get emotionally closer to the characters. A second section follows, marked by a series of twists and turns that are anything but predictable and which take the movie in an unexpected direction. Soderbergh knows how to surprise the viewer; he naively leads us in the direction of what initially seems to be a foreseeable development of the plot, just to change the register, confusing and diverting those who had fooled themselves into thinking there would be a simple ending.
The moments that demand particular attention are never lacking, and the tension and sense that something intriguing is about to happen persist throughout the movie, despite the pace being unquestionably slow and the lack of action or any other element that deviates from the canons of the ideal psychological thriller. A strong screenplay, a cast that includes important actors of the caliber of Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and a plot that pays close attention to every detail are other remarkable components that add that something more to this already excellently packaged movie.
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Emily (Rooney Mara) is motivated to get treatment for her anxiety after losing her equilibrium. After being given a daily regime of conventional antidepressants that had little effect on her condition, Emily can finally find happiness, vitality, and a profound love for her husband Martin after switching to experimental medication. But, Martin is fatally murdered one night in their kitchen, and when the police show up there, Emily is found with a knife still in her hand, even though she has no memory of what happened.
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There are films that surprise you while you are watching them. I had a similar feeling while watching Gone Girl, a 2014 film by David Fincher. You watch the first part of the film and it seems boring... not bad or badly directed or acted, just boring... an exercise in style by the director, good actors but a predictable plot...
then something happens, an unexpected detail suddenly changes the plot and overturns everything we thought we understood.
This, at least for me, makes the film even more interesting (although I have to have the patience to get there 😅).
A super recommended film if you like thrillers, with the advice of course not to stop halfway through but to keep watching it... it's worth it!!!
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My personal vote is:
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Sources of image used for the post cover is this.
Farewell image and text separators, created by me with Canva
