Side Effects (2013)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 188
Fresh: 158 | Rotten: 30
A smart, clever thriller with plenty of disquieting twists, Side Effects is yet another assured effort from director Steven Soderbergh.
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 48
Fresh: 39 | Rotten: 9
A smart, clever thriller with plenty of disquieting twists, Side Effects is yet another assured effort from director Steven Soderbergh.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 59,953
Movie Info
SIDE EFFECTS is a provocative thriller about Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist (Jude Law) - intended to treat anxiety - has unexpected side effects. (c) Official FB
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Cast
-
Rooney Mara
Emily Hawkins, Emily... -
Channing Tatum
Martin Taylor -
Jude Law
Dr. Jonathan Banks -
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Dr. Victoria Siebert -
Ann Dowd
Martin's Mother -
Vinessa Shaw
Dierdre Banks -
Carmen Pelaez
Prison Desk Guard -
Martin Ireland
Upset Visitor -
Polly Draper
Emily's Boss -
Haraldo Alvarez
Garage Attendant -
Jimmy Martinez
Police Officer at Ho... -
Vladimir Versailles
Augustin -
Jacqueline Antaramia...
Desk Nurse -
-
Katie Lowes
Conference Organizer -
David Costabile
Carl -
Mamie Gummer
Kayla -
Steven Platt
Bartender -
Víctor Cruz
NYPD Officer Beahan -
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Pharmacist -
Peter Friedman
Banks Partner #1 -
Andrea Bogart
Drug Rep -
Laila Robins
Banks Partner #2 -
Mitchell Michaliszyn
Ezra Banks -
Elizabeth Rich
Banks Patient #1 -
Roderick Rodriguez
Paramedic #1 -
Mark Weekes
Paramedic #2 -
John Scott Shepherd
NYPD Detective -
Michael Nathanson
Assistant District A... -
Timothy Klein
Transporting Officer... -
Sheila Tapia
Emily's Attorney -
Josh Elliott
GMA Anchor -
Sasha Bardey
Dr. Peter Joubert -
Ashley A. Morrison
Reporter #1 -
Steve Lacy
Reporter #2 -
Ken Marks
Banks Patient #2 -
Devin Ratray
Banks Patient #3 -
Russell G. Jones
Jeffery Childs -
Munro M. Bonnell
Judge #1 -
Susan Gross
Susan -
Debbie Friedlander
Wards Island Adminis... -
Ilyana Kadushin
ECT Patient -
Johnny Sanchez
ECT Nurse -
Nicole Ansari
Disturbed Patient on... -
La Chanze
Wards Island Desk Nu... -
Alice Niedermair-Lud...
Wards Island Nurse -
Craig muMs Grant
Wards Island Orderly -
Davenia McFadden
Judge #2 -
Raymond DeBendictis
Arresting Officer -
J. Claude Deering
Zach -
Blake Lively
Emily Hawkins
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Side Effects Trailer & Photos
All Critics (188) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (158) | Rotten (30) | DVD (1)
Once Side Effects gets into its crime story, medication is swept aside by movie nonsense. The storyline goes into tangles that have to be dealt with very rapidly if the audience is not to start laughing.
Top CriticAs a thriller in the Hitchcock mould, 'Side Effects' is great fun: its characters are well acted without being entirely likeable, which makes their jeopardy all the more enjoyable while putting us at a clinical remove.
Soderbergh is less interested in making statements than he is in skillfully fulfilling genre expectations.
A crafty teaser that presents itself as one kind of film before gradually evolving into another kind altogether. I, for one, enjoyed both enormously.
Steven Soderbergh is one of our best and most versatile directors.
Side Effects is a cracking thriller that ranks amongst Soderbergh's best, featuring electric performances by Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum.
This is one of those films where every single line of dialogue has a meaning, then another meaning, and possibly a third as perspectives shift with each new revelation.
Even if you think Soderbergh has screwed up, you'll probably find the mistakes interesting.
A provocative thriller that offers intelligence and solid surprises until its lame third act.
Performances are generally fine with the glaring exception of a laughably earnest Catherine Zeta Jones (channelling '90s Demi Moore) as Emily's previous therapist.
Side Effects is a twisty pharmaceutical thriller that functions both as an effective drama and a social commentary on America's rising obsession with prescription drugs.
It suggests Jagged Edge retold in the measured voice of the New Yorker.
...another disappointing misfire from Soderbergh...
Um experimento de gênero eficiente e que demonstra certa coragem ao puxar o tapete sob as expectativas do público quanto ao tipo de filme que está vendo.
It's the nuances that lift it into the upper echelon, especially the subtle way it poses questions about our growing dependence on psychopharmaceuticals and the motivations of the doctors who so freely prescribe them.
There's no lasting surprise, no wonder or "wow" factor. Instead, Side Effects is a serviceable suspense effort that owes more than a little to its desire to mimic one of the medium's masters.
Even when it twists back to Hitchcockland, there's more than enough lingering spookiness about a culture's dependence on prescription drugs and psychiatry to wrench Side Effects away from being a mere trickster-tale.
Soderbergh is that rare director who can turn a clunky screenplay into something almost entirely delicious, and with SIDE EFFECTS he does exactly that.
Soderbergh, with the help of some excellent writing by Scott Z. Burns and an outstanding cast, take you to Hitchcock territory.
A masterful double-bluff. What starts as a taut, topical drama about medicated America becomes a classic, twisted neo-noir that sees Soderbergh pushing aside on-the-nose themes in favour of sheer entertainment.
One moment, we're watching an enthralling exposé of the modern pharmaceutical industry; the next we're reeling from some well-timed mystery-thriller shocks. And Soderbergh, aided by a sharp script and superb cast, wrong-foots us all the way.
Ripper psychological mystery-thriller...prime, sharply directed guessing game stuff full of plot surprises and great left turns.
Courtroom drama, forensic thriller, romantic murder mystery...It's as if, the prescription for genre side effects, is more genres.
At its best, it's chilling, creepy, strange and intriguing; at its worst, it's gorgeous to look at.
A real pill of a movie that packs a serious one-two punch as a detective drama coupled with a cautionary tale about the dangers of trying to pharma-cate our troubles away.
Audience Reviews for Side Effects
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Dierdre Banks: Oh, the advantages of having a husband who can write prescriptions. What are they called again?
- Dr. Jonathan Banks: It's beta blocker.
- Dierdre Banks: Hmm...is it bad that I'm doing this?
- Dr. Jonathan Banks: Everyone takes them. Lawyers, musicians. People going to interviews for big jobs..It doesn't make you anything you're not, it just makes it easier for you to be who you are.
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- Dierdre Banks: Did the person do it? Are they guilty?
- Dr. Jonathan Banks: In this case, those are two very different things.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Is Rex Reed the worst film critic that has ever lived? | 2 months ago | 53 |
| Looks intriguing | 7 months ago | 21 |
| Contagion 2? | 7 months ago | 6 |
| Does this have multiplayer? | 7 months ago | 6 |
| Is this movie anti-psychology? | 6 months ago | 3 |
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Foreign Titles
- Side Effects (DE)
- Side Effects (UK)
Martin is a recently paroled white collar criminal whose wife Emily is struggling with anxiety and depression in the wake of his release. Her psychiatrist Dr. Banks prescribes her a new experimental drug, but not long after, things fall apart when the drug is revealed to have some shocking and unexpected side effects.
For about the first oh, 40 minutes or so, it seems as if Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns really have some issues with the pharmaceutical industry, as this kinda comes off as some sort of horrifying anti-pill propaganda. But then, the film takes a radical shift and turns into a thriller of a different kind.
I'm deliberately being vague, as part of the fun is experiencing this sharp and taut caper for yourself. It gets pretty twisty and turny, and some may not take well to the shift in direction, but it's not jarring enough to completely derail things. At least I didn't think so.
It's got the style we've come to expect from Soderbergh, and it is quite an effective and engaging film. The cinematography, editing, and music fit the proceedings quite well, and there's some great sequences here, one in particular that is incredibly potent.
The cast are well picked, and their performances are quite strong. Channing Tatum is quite decent and believable as Martin, Jude Law is solid as Dr. Banks, and Catherine Zeta-Jones is quite good as Emily's former psychiatrist Dr. Siebert. The real highlight here is Rooney Mara as Emily. She's got a tough role, but she pulls it off quite well.
I said the film is pretty sharp, but I must admit that it is a bit of a slow burner at first, and the twists and turns are a bit *ahem* hard to swallow, but if you can keep an open mind, suspend some belief, and be willing to accept what the film throws at you, then you'll probably have a pretty good time.