Side Effects
Side Effects provides good news for those jonseing for another peek at Romy Mara, that mesmerizing star of the anglicized Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She’s back and with a character immersed in a plot almost as twisted as Stieg Larsson’s original inspiration thanks to director Steven Soderberg, here reunited with screenwriter of The Bourne Ultimatum and The Informant, Scott Z. Burns. Emily Taylor (Mara) is a dutiful wife with fragile mental health who stands by her man Martin (Channing Tatum) while he serves four years for insider trading. When the Taylors were living high on the larceny hog Emily’s previous shrink Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta Jones) had her on conventional antidepressants. However a psychotic incident just after Martin's release puts Emily in the care of Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) who starts her on a regimen of more effective if somewhat unproven mind altering medicine. Emily’s mood swings positive for an extended time but then her behaviour becomes progressively erratic and leads to amnesiatic murder. The plot seems destined for some kind of predictable landmark lawsuit and a diatribe against mercenary drug companies – that is until it takes a hook swing into dramatic left field leaving Dr Banks on the precipice of a career meltdown. Side Effects is a tense drama that will probably get you listening way more carefully to the disclaimers in those “ask your doctor…” drug commercials for every symptom from xenophobia to anal leakage.