Movie Review: Side Effects

Side Effects (2013) Dir: S. Soderberg

Synopsis:

The protagonist is a psychiatrist who gets a patient who has attempted suicide.  She later has a parasomnia episode where she stabs her husband to death and goes back to sleep.

It turns out that this is a giant scam.

She killed her husband while "doped" up on a new to market drug.

Well actually she just straight up murdered him and skated on the charges by faking the symptoms really well and actually taking this drug but not previous ones described.  The psychiatrist continues probing after however and he figures it all out.

She conspired with her previous psychiatrist to murder her husband and tank the stocks of a firm and cause its main competitor to rise.  He plays both of them...gets the other in jail and his patient permanently confined in a mental hospital.

My take:

Decent story and the pacing is a bit off but that disjointedness actually helps bring the psychosis of the people in the movie out to the audience.  At the end of the movie no one comes out clean and the protagonist, though left in a better place can be looked at with a bit of a suspicious eye.  He didn't get justice...he got even.  This movie was about vengeance and in the end it deilvered int he most chilling fashion possible.

Of course the real world implications for how we view and treat mental patients is also chilling.  Once you are put through that system how easy would it be for a corrupt official or doctor to abuse you?  Easy.  The film achieves a very subtle but deep level of horror if the viewer cares to give more than a moments pause.  The pacing of the movie also helps to get the viewer to think about each phase.

All in all... grade A-

The downside of the movie?  A few plot holes that could have been sewn up with better writers who care about the subject material.   Thanks to great acting and a solid piece of directions and good production...the movie hits on all fronts and might leave most people stunned and wondering...WTF did I just see?