Side Effects: This movie may cause unintended eye-rolling

Writer-director Steven Soderbergh does a bit of a juggling act with Side Effects, allegedly his swan song. On one hand, the film offers a critique of a pill-popping culture that makes people into guinea pigs for pharmaceutical companies. On the other hand, the movie is designed to be a thriller that keeps you guessing right to the final frame. While Soderbergh occasionally strikes the right balance between the two, too often the film often isn’t successful on either account.

The film’s first half examines the complications that arise when Emily’s (Rooney Mara) husband Martin (Channing Tatum) returns home after serving time for insider trading. His re-entry into her life is awkward and Emily immediately shows signs of suffering from depression. In an apparent cry for help, she runs her car straight into a brick wall one day. Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), a psychiatrist, tries therapy and prescription drugs to help alleviate “fog.” After experiencing some negative side effects, Jonathan talks to Emily’s former psychiatrist (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and switches her medication. Then one night while sleepwalking, Emily stabs and kills her husband. It’s at this point that the film’s pacing thankfully picks up.

With Jonathan’s reputation sullied, he becomes fixated on what has transpired, eventually even suspecting a conspiracy is at hand. The intrigue builds as Jonathan slowly starts to discover that Emily hasn’t been entirely truthful. What happens next is both intriguing and borderline ridiculous. While the final wrenches thrown in the mix might keep you guessing, they also could leave you rolling your eyes.