I Just went to see Side Effects. It’s a psychological thriller, lets face it: it was going to happen. So it’s Directed by Steven Soderbergh who also directed Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve. So you know that you’re getting something that’s fast-paced and gripping. Jude Law’s in it and so is Catherine Zeta-Jones and the less famous Rooney Mara who played quite a convincing depressed person.
So without giving too much away, Emily, the main character, suffers from depression after her husband, Martin was sent to prison for some unknown crime. She waits for him (sweet), only her depression takes a toll on their relationship. She is treated by a new doctor, Jude Law’s character, who prescribes her a newly released antidepressant called ABLIXA. And this is when, surprise, surprise…things start going wrong. Like, really wrong.
Let me start off by saying that whatever expectations you have about this film are going to be shattered pretty much the moment the film begins. We are told after the beginning scene that this is going to be a circular narrative and so are naturally eager to find out about the events which led up to the bloody scene which we are presented with at the beginning.
Halfway through the film you think you’ve figured out the plot. Well let me just tell you that no. no, you haven’t. The full extent of the narrative will slowly dawn upon you within the last 15-20 minutes. In fact, I feel as though I need to re-watch this film in order for me to piece together all the information correctly, because (as my mind works at a glacial speed) I missed a great deal. But what I did get MADE SENSE.
Let’s just talk about the underlying message of this film. We take a hell of a lot of pills. Especially Americans. Oh, that reminds me; there was one quote which summed up the difference between pill taking tendencies of the UK and the USA: “In the UK, if you’re taking pills, that means you’re sick. In the US, taking pills means you’re getting better.” That quote has crazy connotations! But so has the film! There were people popping pills to get ready for job interviews. This is the kind of world we live in, people! At one point they even mentioned that a lot of the pills were actually placebos. What has that got to say about the people who take them and actually get better as a result? That they weren't really ill in the first place, that’s what.
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->
About the dialogue. I usually notice when dialogue is bad because when dialogue is bad, it is very, very bad, and when dialogue good…well, I’m less likely to notice. Sounds pretty lame, I know, but I’m far more likely to notice bad dialogue because, for example, someone answering the phone and saying “Hello, brother. Thank you for calling me to remind me that you are coming over to visit me later” well, its just crap and it negates all the effort that the director and actors have put into creating a believable world. So anyway, I didn’t notice anything bad about the dialogue, and I think the script overall must have been very good because just when you think you're secure in your own smug knowledge about what's going to go down, the writer (Scott Z. Burns) is like “PSYCH!” And then throws you off guard again.
The music was pretty good in creating suspense, and there were some interesting camera angles going on. Angles that almost had me tilting my head to the side and then I realised that, as an audience member, I shouldn’t have to do a damn thing but sit in my damn seat and be fed information.
So overall, I am experiencing some pretty good side effects from watching this film. (Sorry, it had to be done)
Good day!
P.S. If you enjoyed this film, you'll probably also enjoy Limitless. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219289/?ref_=sr_1
No comments:
Post a Comment