 |
| Dr. Banks (Law) and Emily (Mara) address her depression. |
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Produced by Scott Z. Burns, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Gregory Jacobs
Written by Scott Z. Burns
Starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Vinessa Shaw, and Ann Dowd
***1/2
Taking medication can do wonders, but it can also create problems. In this case, complications start when Emily Taylor (Mara) brings her husband Martin (Tatum) home from prison and finds her depression unbearable. This introduces us to Dr. Jonathan Banks (Law), who becomes her new psychiatrist. As their appointments progress, he decides to prescribe a new medication called Ablixa. Emily gets better, but not without some strange side effects. Her actions become impaired by the medication, resulting in severe court proceedings against her. But Dr. Banks is dragged into the mess as well, and he must get to the bottom of this odd case. With his career and the life of his patient on the line, he struggles to find the truth, dredging up the past and discovering a huge secret in the process. (Note: There's a lot I left out, for the sake of not spoiling the film.)
If this is Soderbergh's last film, it's an intriguing one with which to close. While it's cold (much like Contagion), it's also very entertaining and features superb, nuanced work from its cast. Soderbergh continues to get the best out of Channing Tatum; and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vinessa Shaw, and Ann Dowd deliver effective supporting performances. However, full praise must go to Jude Law, who gives his best performance in years, and Rooney Mara, who erases any doubt that she is a force to be reckoned with. The craft work of the film is equally good. Thomas Newman's score is a major contribution (more than his Skyfall work), and the editing keeps things moving at a nice pace. While some of the lighting techniques feel recycled from better Soderbergh efforts, his style does work to the film's advantage on the whole. This isn't the best entry in the director's catalog, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to watching it again.
Oscar Potential: Best Original Score
Thanks for the excellent, concise, spoiler free review. I'm not sure whether I'll like this film. You're the second reviewer I've seen describe it as "cold." And I am leery of anti-psychiatric medication messages (not that this is necessarily the message this movie is meant to convey).
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it sounds like the quality of the direction and performances are not to be missed. And I can't remember the last time I've seen Jude Law in a really great role. :-) I'm going to try to catch this in the theater while it's in town, in my city's one little theater. Hah ha.
No problem. And thank you for the compliment. ;)
DeleteHaha. I think Law's very underrated, but you might like his performance in Anna Karenina. That's a great recent one.
Yay! Hope you get to see it soon.
You never know where it's going to end-up and even if you do have a general idea, it's still fun to watch and see. Good review Josh.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. Yeah, the film was very suspenseful, with wonderful twists and turns.
DeleteOoh, shame David Holmes didn't do the music for this one, but I'll check out the score for sure. I'll definitely see this one for Rooney.
ReplyDeleteRooney's one of the best reasons to see the film, and Newman's score is very effective. Not sure if Holmes would've had the same effect.
DeleteIt's cold all right but I didn't find it all that entertaining. Thomas Newman's score certainly helps add to the ominous mood though. I don't think I'll be seeing this one again, Josh.
ReplyDeleteFair enough, Ruth. Know you're not a big Soderbergh fan. ;)
DeleteI guess I'm just neutral about him, but ah well, you can't like everybody :)
DeleteHaha. That's very true.
DeleteGreat review here man. We're pretty much in full agreement.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree that Law is better here than he's been in a long time, Mara is a beast, and Newman's score was so... unNewman, but in a good way. Solid effort from one of my favorite directors. So bummed he's out.
Thanks man. As a Jude Law fan, I was thrilled to see him in a proper leading role again. And I wasn't sure what to expect of Mara after Dragon Tattoo, but she was fantastic.
DeleteYeah, unNewman is a great way to put it. Really adds to the atmosphere of the film.
Fingers crossed he'll come back.
i really wanna see this!
ReplyDeleteIt's great. Hope you like it!
Delete