Side Effects (2013)

Steven Soderbergh's allegedly final film is a strange kind of hybrid. It starts out as a critique of the pharmaceutical industry, and of the mental health profession more widely. America is a self-professed nation of medicinal consumers - if it has a name, there's a pill for it - and taking a scalpel to the surface of this vast market is a fascinating premise. But Soderbergh is all the while laying the groundwork for what actually turns out to be a psychological thriller, with a lot of unexpected strands sparking simultaneously as it winds its way to a conclusion.

What it does deliver on unequivocally is a great performance from Rooney Mara, who took on the daunting task of playing Lisbeth Salander in the US remake of the Swedish hit a few years ago. She rose to the challenge then, and she rises to it now, easily the most convincing in this all star cast. Emily, her wide-eyed, slightly haunting heroine  is suffering from severe depression after  her fraudulent husband (Channing Tatum) returns from jail. Channing Tatum never really seems to act - he just kind of is - and for that reason he's almost quite good, in a very naturalistic way. Following a suspicious car accident, Emily seeks help from Dr Banks, Jude Law at his best, slightly smarmy self in the role of patronising psychiatrist. He prescribes her something fresh from the laboratories, Ablixa, and you just know it's going to be a disaster. What follows is a bizarre series of somnambulist outings, several fraught consultations, and a bloody murder with a kitchen knife. Catherine Zeta-Jones enters the fray as another paragon of virtuosity from the medical profession; actually, she looks kind of creepy with giant glasses and unnervingly slick hair. I'm such a fan of her performance in Chicago I'd probably forgive her anything but I'm not sure she quite fits this role. Her voice, with its syrupy transatlantic drawl, is a bit distracting and she sounds more like she's doing voiceovers for M&S than giving serious medical advice.

All these elements make for a slightly confusing narrative and the interrogation of the pharmaceutical industry is somewhat lost. It turns out not to be about the pills Emily has been prescribed; rather, Soderbergh delights in unraveling the world of Dr Banks as he slowly realises he's been played. I was a bit disappointed by the 'big twist' - it was neither shocking nor particularly well constructed.

However, Side Effects is a beautifully shot film and we sail through a world so cleanly imagined, with such smoothness and depth of colour, that it feels uncannily like a drug commercial. It is an interesting, if not brilliant final outing from Soderbergh and it certainly showcases some impressive acting talent from Mara. I left the cinema a little more suspicious of the pills we are all prescribed but equally, and more worryingly, of the people who are prescribing them.