Flickchart Preview: ‘Side Effects’

A husband’s impending release from prison fills his wife with such anxiety that she turns to a psychiatrist for help. But the drug he prescribes to treat her anxiety comes with certain – you guessed it – side effects, and soon life begins unraveling around the principal players.

This is the premise of Steven Soderbergh‘s upcoming (and last?) film, Side Effects, opening this week. Take a look at the trailer below:

Side Effects is being touted as the last feature film Steven Soderbergh will ever make as a director. (He has Behind the Candelabra, a biography of Liberace starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, coming later this year, but debuting on HBO; after that, there are no more directing credits to his name on IMDb.) If that is indeed the case, one can hope it will be a fitting swan song for a varied, eclectic, and influential career in film. It’s the career of a director who rarely repeats himself, and has dabbled in everything from hard-hitting drama to comedy, star-studded capers to epic two-part biopics, science fiction to gangsters. Whether perceived as masterpieces or curiosities, Soderbergh’s films are almost never regarded as less than interesting failures, and more often as so much more. That he chooses to go out on what seems – on the surface – like it could be a relatively generic thriller is just another interesting thing that Steven Soderbergh has done.

Side Effects stars Oscar nominee Rooney Mara (of David Fincher‘s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) as Emily Taylor. The other three principal actors are Soderbergh veterans: As Emily’s husband, Martin, Channing Tatum appears to be Soderbergh’s last great collaborator, having appeared in the Oscar-winning director’s last two films, the male stripper comedy drama Magic Mike and action movie Haywire. Jude Law, as the psychiatrist whose prescription-writing leads to everyone’s problems, previously worked with Soderbergh on Contagion. Catherine Zeta-Jones appeared in the middle chapter of Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy, and starred for him in Traffic – the film that won Soderbergh his Best Director Oscar.

Soderbergh definitely has his fans on Flickchart, with 8 of his movies ranking in the Top 2000 of all time. Here are some things Flickcharters have had to say about some of his highest-ranked films:

“Ocean’s Eleven defines a good time with a motion picture.” – user TheEgant in Ocean’s Eleven vs. Ocean’s Twelve.

“[Out of] Sight is a gorgeously shot movie, with humour, violence, great dialogue, amazing cast chemistry, and one of the sexiest scenes ever shot…” – user SkoochXC in Kill Bill, Vol. 1 vs. Out of Sight.

“The Limey is a unique thriller featuring Terence Stamp in one of the great cinematic performances. It’s one of Steven Soderbergh’s best.” – user twpk117 in The Limey vs. The Adjustment Bureau.

The script for Side Effects is from Scott Z. Burns, whose credits include Soderbergh’s Contagion and The Informant!. Side Effects is ready to rank on Flickchart when it opens on February 8th.

Looking for more from Steven Soderbergh?

• See why Soderbergh’s The Limey is one of our Movies to See Before You Die.
• Read our review of Soderbergh’s Contagion.