Rating of
3/4
Better Murder Through Chemistry
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/19/13
What starts off as a seemingly straight-forward story about the evils of heartless drug companies takes a nifty twist that becomes a much better thriller involving some well-laid plans - devious and inventive plans I might add. It's not often that I get surprised, but I am happy to report that Side Effects did the trick and made the movie that much better.
What really sets things apart is that the four main characters are all really well cast. Jude Law is excellent as a psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Banks, who just happens to be assigned to a woman who has attempted suicide - that would be Emily Taylor (a likewise excellent Rooney Mara) whose husband (the always effective Channing Tatum) has just been released from prison after four years following an insider trading scandal that left the Taylors pretty much destitute. After crashing her car into a wall, she begins sessions with Banks, who starts prescribing a series of drugs to help with depression.
After talking with her former psychologist Dr. Victoria Siebert (a slippery and sly Catherine Zeta-Jones) he eventually decides that a new drug, Albixa, will be best for her situation. But soon she starts having sleep-walking spells, and it eventually leads to her fatally stabbing her husband while in one of these states. Soon Banks finds his life in shambles as the drug takes a bad rap and his patients, partners and even his wife all end up leaving his side. At this point the movie played like some big anti-drug angle - not the illegal kind of drugs, but the kind big pharma pushes out to increase profits without taking a lot of time to think about the consequences. Emily seems like a victim - but the movie can't be that simple... right? Oh not, Steven Soderbergh haas much more up his sleeve at this point.
Banks starts to uncover some startling facts about Emily and Dr. Siebert - and soon becomes obsessed with figuring out the truth even as his life is all but collapsing around him. And then the movie really earns its Thriller status as a cat and mouse game happens between all three people - and it's Banks that eventually holds the reigns. I can't say there is really any "heroes" in this movie as everyone operates under their own agenda and none of them are particularly nice agendas. Even Law's character, while wanting the truth - is a bit of a greedy little creep.
Even if the characters aren't exactly agreeable, the story is fantastic - this is just the kind of movie that makes people think and talk about it long after the credits have rolled. It's not just the mystery of who to trust, either, but issues like paying obscene amounts of money to push untested drugs on people for "research" and how quick society rushes to vilify (or get behind) someone before the full story comes out. Twists aside, the movie raises many interesting points about drug companies and justice that can't be ignored.
This is a movie you need to pay attention to to get the full impact. And it's a movie that actually deserves that attention.
