Synopsis: A young woman's world unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist has unexpected side effects.
Verdict: I had absolutely no idea what to expect which is probably the best way to go into this movie given all the twists and turns the plot takes the whole way through. One minute you think you know what's happening then the next the plot is turned completely on its head (boy it's going to be difficult reviewing this without giving anything away...) which is what makes this stand out - thanks to a brilliant script by Scott Z. Burns.
Some might complain that it's too confusing but sometimes it's good to watch a movie where you have to use your brain a little bit, without walking out with your mind completely boggled. Everything that happens here is completely feasible but not obvious when you first look at it. Whilst it'd lose the shock factor, I think this would justify repeat viewings just to see if you can spot things you hadn't previously - like Inception.
One of the main joys of this film is the acting. Jude Law is the main star of the show here and he puts in quite possibly the best performance I've ever seen him do - carrying off being a smug doctor early on before seeming more wounded as events spiral out of control - and I think it could be worthy of an Oscar nomination. Whilst Channing Tatum features prominently in the marketing his part is fleeting and he rarely appears on screen but he is really starting to prove himself as an actor. Rooney Mara also gives a scarily real performance as a depression sufferer which I think helped make the film so absorbing through the whole runtime - I can't imagine Blake Lively playing such a beefy part, if those rumours were true.
If it is true that this will be Steven Soderbergh's swan song as a director then he's certainly gone out with a bang - thank goodness after the mess that was Magic Mike (did that film actually have a plot?). He has managed to produce a breathtaking medical drama/conspiracy thriller that is scarily representative of the current pill-popping culture with characters comparing which drugs they've taken for depression in a truly Hitchcock-esque style.
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