45 minutes into Side Effects (2013), I gazed at the clock, never a good sign when watching any form of entertainment. It seemed an indictment of pharmaceutical companies and the shrinks who dispense the drugs the firms manufacture. It also seemed that it would leave the matter open to debate, as many episodes of Law & Order did, which is fine in a weekly one hour program but deathly in a 105 minute movie. Then the story line took a sudden turn I didn’t see coming and the film improved dramatically, and concluded definitively. In researching it at IMDb, several contributor comments cited questionable plot points. I don’t disagree, but I think the film works despite them. It is quietly intense, so unlike what is generally produced these days. It is more like a BBC production than an American one. It was made on a modest budget of 30 million and earned a small profit at the box office. The principal members of the cast, Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta Jones, are excellent. This was my first look at Channing Tatum, whose part wasn’t substantial enough to judge. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh, who has done many solid ones. His Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989) was a phenomenon that signaled he was an artist to be taken seriously. The screenplay was written by Scott Z. Burns. Kudos to both men for not going the commercial route, for creating a work that requires the viewer to think. The players are frequently in shadow, which I suspect is not only homage to film noir but a representation of the world as seen through someone taking anti-depressants. On a scale of five, I rate Side Effects 3.75. It is rated 7.1 of ten at IMDb.
I really blew it today and I'll pay for it tomorrow. When I left the house just after 6AM for my morning walk, it was drizzling. I figured the rain, unanimously predicted by all local venues, would worsen throughout the day. When I went to the recycling center at about 10:30, I was surprised to find the streets dry. It is now after five and the courtyard outside my window is dry. I could have set up shop today, delayed the chores I fulfilled until tomorrow, which now figures to be a very long day. The forecast is for mucho eye strain.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
No comments:
Post a Comment