Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

The current state of our healthcare system, and especially the pervasiveness of prescription pills,have been the subject of great and compelling interest to news outlets over the last few years. But it's not exactly been the stuff of great multiplex excitement. We received more proof this weekend with the opening of Side Effects . The movie, which tells of a troubled woman (Rooney Mara) for whom things begin to go askew when she tries a new psychiatric medication, grossed a dismal $10 million in U.S. theaters despite the presence of popular stars (Channing Tatum plays Mara's husband) and stellar reviews. Yes, I know, iffy marketing campaigns and Steven Soderbergh and all that. (The director, as my colleague Amy Kaufman notes, isnt a consistent draw). And it's easy to wonder if the film might have done slightly better with a stronger title. (The movie was originally called "The Bitter Pill," an improvement, after a fashion.) But its hard not to feel as if the subject matter isnt also responsible, at least a little, for the poor showing of Side Effects. A couple years back, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway couldnt turn another pill-themed story, Love and Other Drugs, into rom-com gold. … Continue reading →

Side Effects, Steven Soderberghs entertaining new movie, is a psychopharmacological thriller about a woman named Emily who is functionally depressed. Owen Gleiberman, film critic for Entertainment Weekly magazine, has more. To view our videos, you need to enable JavaScript. Learn how. install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now. Then come back here and refresh the page. Side Effects, Steven Soderberghs entertaining new movie, is a psychopharmacological thriller about a woman named Emily who is functionally depressed, a tough quality to dramatize effectively. Fortunately, shes played by Rooney Mara, who has mastered the trick of how to act recessive and threatening at the same time. In her first leading role since The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Mara transforms herself yet again, this time into a very different specimen of seductive, damaged will. Emily, an upper-middle-class wastrel-princess, is married to Martin, played by Channing Tatum, whos character has just gotten out of prison after serving four years for insider trading. Shes trying to be there for him, but shes remote, disaffected. After she crashes her car into a parking-garage wall, a psychiatrist played by Jude Law puts her on a new miracle pill called Ablixa. In Side Effects, Soderbergh turns … Continue reading →

Side Effects (2013) - Movie Review By Nick of ReelScreenReviews Nick over at Reel Screen Reviews gives the We Live Film his take on the latest Steven Soderbergh film. Subscribe to Nick at http://www.youtube.com Movie: Side Effects Plot: Emily and Martin are a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist - intended to treat anxiety - has unexpected side effects. Cast: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, and Catherine Zeta Jones By: WeLiveFilm … Continue reading →

#39;Side Effects': Jude Law and Rooney Mara Discuss New Soderbergh Movie The actors talk about working with Steven Soderbergh on his last film, "Side Effects." By: ABCNews … Continue reading →

Side Effects: Movie Review Feb 08, 2013 And for the first 20 minutes or so, it carries on this charade. The story opens on a 28-year-old Emily (Rooney Mara), overwhelmed by her husband's (Channing Tatum) imminent release from prison following a stint for insider trading. The first chapter of the film unites a confused and grief-stricken Mara with psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), whose judgment in prescribing her an experimental new anti-anxiety medication Ablixa is tainted by the pharmaceutical company's monetary offers. But while this engrossing opening act of Side Effects prepares us for one thing, its remaining hour-and-change delivers another. An abrupt shift in the film's identity occurs at the point where a medicated Emily does the unthinkable, and the movie never returns to form thereafter. Where a stronger film might be able to brand this off as a thrilling twist, a successful exhibition of cinematic sleight-of-hand, Side Effects' 180 just serves to furrow brows. Throughout the bulk of the movie, Side Effects' adopts the persona of a half-cocked whodunit, bouncing around the question of fault regarding a drugged up Emily's malfeasance. But the execution is sloppy, with foreshadowing clues placed awkwardly throughout. The audience's interest in the cast … Continue reading →

TV commercials for virility or antidepressant medications often devote most of their two-minute spiels to describing the awful incidental maladies that may befall the pill-taker. By the end of the Doomsday small print, youre likely to think: That which makes me stronger may also kill me. A similar warning should attend any review of Side Effects.Revealing the usual amount of plot would be unfair to viewers with a right to be as surprised as most critics have been. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns, who previously collaborated on the twisty thrillers Contagion and The Informant!,the new movieis like a secret too cool to keep but too treacherous to share. Side Effectsvirtually demands a three-word review: Just see it. Soderbergh has said that this is the last movie he will direct for a while. (Hes got a TV film, the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, set for airing on HBO later this year.) The industrys most prodigious auteur may be entitled to a rest. Now in his 25th year since his 1989 debut withsex, lies and videotape, Soderbergh has directed 25 features, including eight in the last five years. Hes also an active producer, shepherding such films … Continue reading →

Much like commercials for actual drugs, the ads for director Steven Soderberghs Side Effects show you something less than the whole picture, leaving out the more nefarious details about exactly whats going to happen when you consume it. Thats because sharing too much information aboutSide Effects, opening in theaters today, can spoil the entire tale so this review should be fun. But without revealing too much: The film is a psychological thriller that thrills by making audiences question the sanity of nearly every character, even the psychologists, and ultimately themselves. A non-spoilery synopsis of Side Effects goes something like this: Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) is a young woman whose husband Martin (Channing Tatum) was recently released from prison after completing a four-year sentence for insider trading. Shes happy to have him back, but she struggles with depression and anxiety about her future. Enter Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law): A compassionate perhaps too compassionate psychiatrist who treats Emilys condition with a new (fictional) drug called Ablixa that brings her back to life, but has potentially dangerous side effects (dun-dun-DUN!) that could affect her marriage. But the full implication of the drugs effects dont become apparent until almost the second act, and … Continue reading →

Steven Soderbergh returns to direct "Side Effects," a new thriller that follows Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a successful New York couple whose world gets turned upside down when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist (Jude Law) -- intended to treat anxiety -- has unexpected side effects. "Side Effects," which also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vinessa Shaw, could be the final big-screen offering from Soderbergh, who says retiring from feature films. "I didn't want my last couple of films to be heavy," Soderbergh told The Toronto Star. "The last four ended up being 'Haywire,' 'Magic Mike,' 'Side Effects' and [the HBO film 'Behind the Candelabra.'] I was happy that I could play to the more amusing side of my personality rather than the pretentious, dark, boring side." "I'm really happy with it," Soderbergh said of "Side Effects," a plot-twist-heavy movie expected to be Soderbergh's swan song. But are movie critics happy with the film, too? A survey of top critics suggests they are, with some ranking it among Soderbergh's best. The movie has a rating of 83 percent on film aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes. See what the critics have to say: Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly: … Continue reading →

If we are to believe Side Effects is Steven Soderberghs final theatrical film before his retirement from movies, then he couldnt have gone out on a more electrifying film. As a director, Soderbergh is a chameleon. He was never afraid to experiment with technology or storytelling, allowing him the freedom to escape type. And now comes Side Effects, which features the psychological distance of Sex Lies and Videotape with the bold characters of Erin Brockovich and the twists and turns of his Oceans trilogy. Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is astonishing as Emily Taylor, a young New Yorker dealing with the stress and grief of her husband (Channing Tatum) returning home from prison after being sentenced for insider trading. With her life in shambles, she makes a failed suicide attempt and winds up under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), who prescribes her the latest posh anti-depressant medication called Ablixa. At first the drug seems to work, recharging her energy and sexual appetite, but Emily starts to experience some drastic side effects. Dr. Banks idyllic life is thrown drastically off-course when Emilys situation becomes a media frenzy and the spotlight is pointed directly at … Continue reading →

TV commercials for virility or antidepressant medications often devote most of their two-minute spiels to describing the awful incidental maladies that may befall the pill-taker. By the end of the Doomsday small print, youre likely to think: That which makes me stronger may also kill me. A similar warning should attend any review of Side Effects.Revealing the usual amount of plot would be unfair to viewers with a right to be as surprised as most critics have been. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns, who previously collaborated on the twisty thrillers Contagion and The Informant!,the new movieis like a secret too cool to keep but too treacherous to share. Side Effectsvirtually demands a three-word review: Just see it. Soderbergh has said that this is the last movie he will direct for a while. (Hes got a TV film, the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, set for airing on HBO later this year.) The industrys most prodigious auteur may be entitled to a rest. Now in his 25th year since his 1989 debut withsex, lies and videotape, Soderbergh has directed 25 features, including eight in the last five years. Hes also an active producer, shepherding such films … Continue reading →