Side Effects
A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.
What critics thought
Side Effects landed as a broadly well-received neo-Hitchcock thriller, with critics consistently singling out Rooney Mara's performance and Soderbergh's control of misdirection and suspense. The main fault line ran between those who found it genuinely inspired and those who saw it as supremely efficient genre craft rather than something that transcends its influences — smart and gripping, but more maestro-on-autopilot than personal statement.
“More efficient than inspired, Soderbergh rarely succeeds on style alone, but when given a sharp script, like the one for Side Effects, he can make an excellent film. If this is his swan song, it's got a haunting melody”
Richard Corliss·Time
“Side Effects screws around in its own thriller architecture, toying with feints of structure and clever bits of misdirection, and otherwise playing the audience like a fiddle. At this point in his career, Soderbergh pulls it off with the unpracticed ease of a maestro.”
Scott Tobias·A.V. Club
“There's a lot of Alfred Hitchcock in what follows, but even more Henri-Georges Clouzot, with whose classic spine-tingler Les Diaboliques (1954) Soderbergh's film shares a poisonous tang”
Robbie Collin·The Daily Telegraph
“Soderbergh delivers ticking-bomb suspense laced with psychological acuity about a world where mood-altering meds are as disturbingly prevalent as social media”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast & Crew
Steven SoderberghDirector
Rooney MaraEmily Taylor
Jude LawJonathan Banks
Catherine Zeta-JonesDr. Victoria Siebert
Channing TatumMartin Taylor
Vinessa ShawDierdre Banks
Ann DowdMrs. Taylor
Polly DraperEileen Spicer
David CostabileCarl
Mamie GummerKayla
Scott ShepherdNYPD Detective
Marin IrelandUpset Visitor
Elizabeth RodriguezPharmacist
Thomas NewmanComposer
Scott Z. BurnsWriterSteven SoderberghCinematographySide Effects
A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.
What critics thought
Side Effects landed as a broadly well-received neo-Hitchcock thriller, with critics consistently singling out Rooney Mara's performance and Soderbergh's control of misdirection and suspense. The main fault line ran between those who found it genuinely inspired and those who saw it as supremely efficient genre craft rather than something that transcends its influences — smart and gripping, but more maestro-on-autopilot than personal statement.
“More efficient than inspired, Soderbergh rarely succeeds on style alone, but when given a sharp script, like the one for Side Effects, he can make an excellent film. If this is his swan song, it's got a haunting melody”
Richard Corliss·Time
“Side Effects screws around in its own thriller architecture, toying with feints of structure and clever bits of misdirection, and otherwise playing the audience like a fiddle. At this point in his career, Soderbergh pulls it off with the unpracticed ease of a maestro.”
Scott Tobias·A.V. Club
“There's a lot of Alfred Hitchcock in what follows, but even more Henri-Georges Clouzot, with whose classic spine-tingler Les Diaboliques (1954) Soderbergh's film shares a poisonous tang”
Robbie Collin·The Daily Telegraph
“Soderbergh delivers ticking-bomb suspense laced with psychological acuity about a world where mood-altering meds are as disturbingly prevalent as social media”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast & Crew
Steven SoderberghDirectorRooney MaraEmily TaylorJude LawJonathan BanksCatherine Zeta-JonesDr. Victoria SiebertChanning TatumMartin TaylorVinessa ShawDierdre BanksAnn DowdMrs. TaylorPolly DraperEileen SpicerDavid CostabileCarlMamie GummerKaylaScott ShepherdNYPD DetectiveMarin IrelandUpset VisitorElizabeth RodriguezPharmacistThomas NewmanComposerScott Z. BurnsWriterSteven SoderberghCinematography