Side Effects (2013) review

 ‘Side Effects’ is quite possibly, the biggest surprise it didn’t suck film of the year, alongside ‘Beautiful Creatures’ Whilst mystery films were great back in the day, I have grown out of loving mystery films as of late so my expectations for Side Effects were considerably low. Whether it be the low expectations or whether it really be a great mystery film, I really liked Side Effects even if the film was slow, possibly too long and even bland at times.

A young woman named Emily Taylor’s life has gone downhill as she suffers from depression. Following the release from prison of his husband, Martin, played by Channing Tatum, Emily attempts to recreate her life and find happiness but destroys her one chance of happiness by apparently killing him in her sleep due to the side effects of medication she was told to take. From here on in, Side Effects becomes a mystery on what exactly happened and whether or not Emily is guilty of the crime.

Whilst the film is most definitely slow and not fast paced and electrifying as it could’ve been, I must say that Side Effects is an extremely interesting film that keeps you invested in both the story and the characters even if some scenes in the film are bland. The characters in this film are written very well, with much depth given to Emily’s character. This film is a huge shock for me, simply due to how much it explores Emily’s character even though much of it comes late in the film. The exploration of her character early on made me curious as to what happened and what would happen and I thought that was handled very well. To think that this is indeed Steven Soderberg’s final film is rather strange and why he would end with an extremely slow mystery film about a medication with side effects. That said, the direction is good and the writing and musical score is also done well, providing intensity when needed especially early on.

Since the release of 21 Jump Street, people have certainly seem to come and accept Channing Tatum as an actor and in this film, he delivers a solid performance. Going into the film, I feared whether he may not be appropriate for the role considering that he was great in 21 Jump Street, a comedy film and how this is a deeply emotional film. My concerns were forgotten by the end of the film and his performance pleased me once more. Other performances such as those by Jude Law who plays one of the film’s more interesting and energetic characters, Jonathan Banks, the man apparently held responsible to the prescription of the medication and Emily’s psychiatrist, was fantastic. He gave, quite possibly, the best performance in the film. His performance is backed up by solid work by both Rooney Mara and Catherine Zeta-Jones who respectively play Emily and Siebert, lesbian lovers. In all, the performances were great and definitely not a let down.

As interesting as the story is, I would not lie in saying that this film was fast and exciting. It most definitely wasn’t. It was an extremely slow film that often had me bored early on and whilst the first half was slower, it was probably the better half of the film. These slow moments make for some great intensity and by the end, do not ruin the film but do let it down. Either this film was perhaps a bit too long or this film needed to be longer by removing some of the unnecessary sequences and making it a bit faster and more watchable.

Whilst I certainly really enjoyed Side Effects for the fascinating story it was and the great characters, there is no denying that the film is slow and either overlong or too short. General movie goers would most likely be bored by this film and is most definitely not a film that I would rewatch. That said, it was the biggest surprise of the year thus far for me.

Grade- 8/10- Definitely a more than interesting premise and satisfying by the end of the film. Interesting story and characters but nothing in the film is worthy of rewatching, attempts to recreate Hitchcock's glory days.