Seen "Side Effects" Yet? Don't Read This if You Haven't.

 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Scott Z. Burns, starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Channing Tatum - Rated R

 

A good psychological thriller is hard to find these days.  This might be because when one hears “psychological,” they automatically assume there’s going to be a twist ending or something, and because of this, the writers try to throw nothing but curveballs at the audience, which leaves everything a jumbled mess (kind of like this sentence).  Thankfully, director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns don’t try to mess with the audience too much with Side Effects.   Instead, they provide a finely crafted thriller that will leave you guessing here and there, but will never make you feel cheated.

 

Side Effects marks the end of Soderbergh’s directing career (I don’t buy it, but that’s the story), and if it is, then it is a fine end.  The film is all over the place in a good way.  At times I thought it was a condemnation of any number of things: pharmaceuticals, psychologists, Wall Street, and/or our justice system.  The argument could be made that the film is about any single one of those things.  That doesn’t mean Side Effects is some sloppily pieced together political message movie; it just means that it makes you think and keeps your attention. 

 

The film, without delving too far into spoiler territory, is about a depressed woman (Rooney Mara) who becomes the focal point of a debate about antidepressants after an incident.  Her doctor (Jude Law) comes under scrutiny because he prescribed the pills, and he basically turns into a conspiracy theorist trying to figure out what went wrong. 

 

The film is much denser than that synopsis, and that’s the point.  Soderbergh puts together the film in such a way that it feels natural for it to shift around because we’re shifting with the characters.  He films depression in a very effective way.  The use of lighting, focus, and camera angles convey a troubled, distracted mind without being too showy.  In fact, this film could have been just about a depressed person and it would be worth watching for the style of it alone.  The labyrinthine plot allows the film to be more than that as the viewer goes along with Jude Law as he unravels it all.

 

Style and plot can carry a movie just fine, but the acting has to be up to the challenge as well.  Luckily, Side Effects has a very talented cast.  First, Mara, who has already proven herself with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, channels a depressed, damaged person to near perfection.  Her performance is actually quite layered for a role that could be a plain, weepy part if handled differently (I’ll explain more in the spoilers section).  Jude Law is always good, but I really enjoyed this performance because it allowed him to be a bit crazy, and he excels when he gets to be unhinged.  Current do-no-wrong superstar Channing Tatum continues his streak here.  And Catherine Zeta-Jones rounds out the cast nicely as a slightly mysterious psychologist.

 

All in all, Side Effects was a very pleasant surprise amid the usual crappy/boring material released during this time.  If Soderbergh does truly leave the director’s chair, then this is as good a film to go out on as any, but I hope he’s not finished.  Side Effects doesn’t strike me as the work of someone at the end of their career.  This is a film that shows the prolific Soderbergh has hit his stride, but he’s decided to stop running regardless.  It’s too bad, because I want to see more films like Side Effects.  Having your head messed with can be fun sometimes.

 

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I nearly didn’t write this review because of the possibility of spoiling the film.  This is why I’ve waited so long to publish the review, as well.  When it comes to films with genuine surprises, even a vague review can ruin the experience.  I went into the film knowing very little and I’m sure that’s why it worked for me.  Hopefully, you’re only stumbling upon this review after you’ve seen the film. 

 

Anyway, now that you’ve seen it, you know why Mara’s performance was, in fact, layered.  She was never depressed, but only faking it.  This is an easy role to defend, of course.  If she did terribly, then that was on purpose because her character wasn’t actually depressed.  Or if she did it well, then that shows her character was a good actress, much like Mara herself.  I’m going with the latter because she had me fooled.  I totally bought her depression, much like everyone onscreen.  I was shocked when she stabbed Tatum, and I was equally surprised when it became more and more evident that it was premeditated murder.  I went through the exact same feelings that Jude Law’s character must have gone through.  That is why I loved this film.  The filmmakers put me through the experiences of the characters on an emotional level.  Sure, action directors place you in the action all the time, but it is rare for a viewer to be on the same level as a character in a psychological thriller.  Usually, you’re able to be at least one step ahead of each character in a film like this, but I certainly was not.  That just made this film immensely enjoyable for me.  It truly surprised me, and I feel like it’s harder and harder to be surprised by movies. 

 

Of course, maybe I’m just an idiot.  Regardless, this film was smart enough to truly keep me guessing.  If I had known it was a film like that going in, I think I would have figured it out and enjoyed it much less.  

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Directed by David Fincher, written by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, and Stellan Skarsgard - Rated R

A dark story made even better by David Fincher's cold direction.

It was only a matter of time before Stieg Larsson’s addictive novels got the Hollywood treatment.  Thankfully, Director David Fincher was given the task to bring the first novel to the big screen.  Fincher’s signature cold, methodical style forms a perfect union with Larsson’s dark, somewhat twisted source material.  Add a great performance from Rooney Mara and you have one of the best thrillers of the year. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the dark story of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.  Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is an investigative journalist who has recently been publicly discredited.  Just as he begins to lie low for awhile he is contacted by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), an elderly businessman who wants Blomkvist to solve a decades old murder.  Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) conducts investigations of her own, though through more illegal means, mainly computer hacking.  Eventually their paths cross and an unlikely partnership is formed.

If there’s one word that can describe The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, that would be “cold.”  First off, the film is literally cold as it takes place in Sweden and snow is ever present.  The protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, is cold throughout most of the film.  More importantly, it’s Fincher cold.  The director is known for his style, though the most talked about element of his filmmaking is usually his camerawork: the regatta scene in The Social Network, the “go anywhere, through everything” camera movements of the majority of his films, etc.  In other works, though, like Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Se7en, and now The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it’s more about the mood of the film.  Fincher’s camera still moves around effectively, but it doesn’t draw attention to itself.  Overall, Fincher creates an unsettling, dark tone that is perfect for this adaptation.  The emotionless tone works so well because of the titular girl of the film: Lisbeth Salander.

Lisbeth Salander was instantly a literary icon upon the publication of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so the role of the film version is the role of a lifetime.  Noomi Rapace has shot to prominence after portraying her in the Swedish versions of the films, and now Rooney Mara (the girl who dumps Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network) is set to do the same after giving a very effective performance.  In one of the best performances of the year, Mara embodies Salander perfectly.  Salander is a troubled young woman, or she is according to the state.  She is under the guardianship of a despicable man (an absolutely repugnant Yorick van Wageningen) and is not even allowed to look after her own money.  Salander does not do herself any favors by embracing her otherness through her style.  She has the appearance of a troubled hacker, though she can definitely handle herself just fine…as long as it’s done her way. 

Daniel Craig is as much the star of this film as Mara is, however, especially considering that the film’s story is mainly about him.  Craig does a fine job, though his character pales in comparison to Salander.  He is still an immensely watchable actor who seems to effortlessly add energy to the film.  Christopher Plummer is fine as the patriarch of the Vanger family, though I must admit I always envisioned Max von Sydow for his role and still wish he had portrayed Henrik. 

The story of the film may belong to Blomkvist, but the film itself hinges on Salander.  From the techno James Bond-esque opening credits sequence, it is clear that Salander’s character is the core of the film.  Her dark past isn’t expanded on with much detail (which makes her all the more interesting), but Salander still has to go through some brutal moments throughout the film and she easily becomes a likable, twisted anti-hero. 

The brutality of the film is all part of Salander’s character and Fincher’s style.  Fincher has never been one to shy away from violence and this film is no exception.  It’s not gratuitous and he even backs away from the more gruesome scenes, allowing the sounds of the characters and the score to do their work as the camera slowly dollies back.  Speaking of the score, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have created a nicely understated and unsettling score.  While their work for The Social Network was so prominent it was almost a character, the score for Dragon Tattoo always seems to be lurking under the surface, which is exactly where it needs to be for a film like this. 

The style, the characters, the performances, and the tone are what make The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a great movie, but the story is quite engrossing as well.  The investigation Blomkvist and Salander undertake is a very interesting murder-mystery not just because of the crime itself but also because of the Vanger family and all its secrets.  The mystery is complex and takes up quite some time.  This is a lengthy film, though it doesn’t overstay its welcome. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an entertaining, interesting, mature film that has immense style, yet manages to be subdued.  There’s something to be said for a director who can place his stamp on a film without being in your face about it.  David Fincher created a great sensory world for an adaptation of fascinating source material, all of which is elevated by performance, most notably that of Rooney Mara.  It was tagged as the “feel bad movie of Christmas” and that is absolutely true in the best way.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

So what's the deal?  Since Craig is Bond does he have it in his contract that all opening sequences should resemble 007 openings?  All kidding aside, I really dug that sequence, especially the cover of "Immigrant Song." 

As for music, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya will forever remind me of this film now.  The use of that song was hilarious. 

Some brutal moments that made me wince: the football kick of the thing into the thing...you know what I'm talking about.  Ouch.  Also, the golf iron to the face.  Some of the images of this film are burned into my memory...

It's been awhile since I've read the book, but I did pick up on a few things and I was very glad to see an empty box for Billy's Pan Pizza in Salander's apartment.  I always found it amusing how Larsson would go into such extreme detail to the point he would list grocery items.  Of course, a detailed director like Fincher would work that in.