FILM | Reviews 60 THE LIST 21 Feb–21 Mar 2013
THRILLER SIDE EFFECTS (15) 106mins ●●●●●
Set for early retirement, Steven Soderbergh (see interview, page 57) says Side Effects will be the last film of his we’ll see in cinemas – possibly for good. Whether this proves to be the case or not, this thriller set in the world of prescription medicines is typical of his output of late. Written by Scott Z Burns, who previously scripted the Soderbergh-directed The Informant! and Contagion, Side Effects boasts a fine cast, an authentic milieu and a script that flirts with the experimental. But it also underwhelms in the crucial final third. Set in New York, the story centres on Emily Taylor (Rooney
Mara), whose husband Martin (Channing Tatum) has just been released from a four year prison term for insider trading. When Emily deliberately drives her car into the wall of an underground parking lot, seemingly spiralling towards depression, psychiatrist Dr Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) prescribes her the (fictional) drug Ablixa. While it stabilises her moods, it also induces dangerous bouts of sleep-walking.
While this first half feels like a companion to Soderbergh’s own narcotics drama Traffic, lifting the lid on the meds industry, from here onwards the consequences of Emily’s side effects send the film spinning in a more genre-oriented direction. It’s far less convincing, with Soderbergh straying into 1980s Brian De Palma territory.
Law is better than he was as his Aussie blogger in Contagion, while Mara – in her first major role post The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – shows more of her range than playing Lisbeth Salander ever did. The editing and cinematography (both Soderbergh, under pseudonyms) are also sleek. Yet the success of Side Effects largely depends on whether you buy into its narrative u-turn: if you don’t, it’ll stop the film dead. (James Mottram) ■ General release from Fri 8 Mar.
DRAMA SONG FOR MARION (PG) 93min ●●●●●
This British drama, starring acting stalwarts Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp, aims to be a universal story about the importance of family but ends up being a nauseatingly, sentimental weepy.
The premise is simple: Arthur (Stamp) is an old, bitter man looking after his sick wife Marion (Redgrave). Despite her illness she finds enjoyment from being part of a local community choir led by young music teacher, Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton). As Marion takes a turn for the worse, Arthur finds himself more and more attracted to the choir that Marion so loves. And behold, on the horizon is a competition that just might be the hurdle that grumpy Arthur needs to face in order to come to terms with his family struggles.
Where other films might have broken out of their clichéd premise, Song for
Marion never does. It’s sentimental to the extreme, opting for cheap emotional reactions rather than trying to grasp at something more truthful. Despite a cast of iconic British talent the dialogue often feels hollow and the only humour comes from tired jokes about OAPs singing to pop songs. Die hard weepy fans might find catharsis in the amount of tears that flow but for the rest of us, it’s best avoided. (Gail Tolley) ■ General release from Fri 22 Feb.
DOCUMENTARY SIDE BY SIDE (15) 99min ●●●●●
The title of this reasonably interesting and fairly comprehensive documentary about traditional photochemical film and pioneering digital technology is slightly misleading. Although filmmakers have been using both forms for roughly the last decade and a half, digital is gradually growing, threatening to eclipse traditional film altogether. The complexities of the shift are examined in writer, director and experienced post-production supervisor Christopher Kenneally’s (digitally shot) doc, which, while attempting to present a balanced view of the pros and cons of both forms, ultimately comes down on the side of the digital technology of the future.
Taking us through the brief history of the film-versus-digital debate is actor Keanu Reeves, who also produced the film. Reeves’ stardom no doubt opened doors and gave him and Kenneally access to the Hollywood-centric gallery of famous faces making grand claims for both film and for digital and it's curious to see which side of the argument the interviewees come down on – if occasionally somewhat disturbing. Of the A-list directors interviewed, including James Cameron, Danny Boyle, George Lucas, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, and Lars von Trier, only one of the bunch comes out fully in favour of film.
At once a celebration of new technology and a lamentation of a passing one, Side by Side is
oddly depressing to watch. (Miles Fielder) ■ Limited release from Fri 8 Mar.