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Community Corner

'Side Effects' Defines Film Noir

There's a thriller on the loose and a chilling indictment of the nation's pharmaceutical industry.

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is behind this thriller that shows you what can happen when prescription medications like antidepressants go haywire in "Side Effects."

Rooney Mara plays a woman with a lot going on in her life. Her husband, Channing Tatum, is getting out of prison. She's in a financial crisis and in deep depression.

Her psychiatrist, Jude Law, subscribes an experimental new drug at the request of another medical colleague played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

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While on the drug, Mara's character sleepwalks her way into a murder, and from there we go on a thriller roller-coaster ride.

There is a surprise ending to this film so I will not give away too much information. I will say that the film is not quite what it seems and you will be surprised at the ending, no doubt.

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The film is a bit complex, some details in the beginning were left out in the end, and the pace of the film was a bit lumbering, slow and heavy-handed.

That said, the Flick-O-Meter gives "Side Effects" a four out of five.

The acting is fine, the directing is visually appealing, as you would expect with a Soderbergh film, but…in the end I felt a bit cheated, as if I was watching a TV cop show full of convoluted sharp plot twists.

You may even need to take some meds to get your head on right after watching this film.

Let me know what you think.

Head to my Facebook page, TheBrettside, and sound off.

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