Jude Law, Catherine Zeta Jones, Channing Tatum and Rooney Mara
Alright guys, another week of Breaking Netflix has come to a close.
Now it’s time to discuss week 2’s movie: Side Effects!
As per the usual warning: If you have not seen this film and are interested in watching it, please do not read beyond this point! This post will contain spoilers and I don’t want to be blamed for knowledge you didn’t want to know.
As a reminder, here are the names of a few important characters, just so you can be lazy and not go through the entire wiki :D [Yer welcome].
- Rooney Mara = Emily Taylor
- Channing Tatum = Martin Taylor
- Catherine Zeta-Jones = Dr. Victoria Siebert
- Jude Law = Dr. Jonathan Banks
- Vinessa Shaw = Deirdre Banks [Dr. Johnathan’s wifey]
Alright, now that that’s out of the way, I’ve got some questions I want to ask you guys!
- What did you think of the movie? Did you like it/not like it?
- Who was your favorite or least favorite character(s)?
- What was your favorite scene?
- How did you feel when the credits started rolling?
- Anything else you want to comment on (quotes, social commentary, themes or whatever else) :D
- WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE NEXT ON BREAKING NETFLIX? As a reminder, these were previously mentioned viewing ideas.
Okay, here are my answers to ze questions!
(1) I thought this movie was pretty good, I liked it and I would probably recommend it to others! I think that it was very much done exactly in the same tone as the preview trailer, which was nice. I knew what I was getting into but at the same time, I SO DID NOT know what I was getting into. Overall I can see why it has such a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
(2) I am a bit bias here, but Catherine Zeta Jones (Dr. Siebert) stole all the scenes for me. Every time she was on screen I was completely captivated. Her character was strategic, manipulative and a total douche bag. THE ACTING WAS SO GOOD! I’d have to say that my least favorite character at times was Emily, just because a lot of the scenes – especially the stabbing scene – seems forced and not very convincing. Although the character herself was very layered, so I guess she wasn’t all that bad. I wanted to say Martin was my least favorite character, but I really believed he cared for Emily in every scene they were together. Minus the dick comment about her medication and sex. Oh, men.
(3) FAVORITE SCENES – okay okay okay, first scene, super obvious, the scene where Emily confesses everything that she and Dr. Siebert had schemed together. HOLY SHIT, DID NOT SEE A LESBIAN RELATIONSHIP COMING, WUAHHH??? Nice. I like being caught off guard. I suspected things were fishy when the two of them spoke briefly before those sexy time photos were mailed to Dr. Bank’s home. But I didn’t not see that whole plot twist. Second scene, was the scene where Jude Law’s whole fucking world comes crashing down. Oh sorry not Jude Law, uh, Dr. Banks. The part where his endorsement is pulled, his coworkers freak the fuck out on him, his wife sees the incriminating pictures with Emily. OMG! I totally felt so bad for this guy. Law does a great job of acting there. My favorite scenes in most movies are the domino effect ones.
My least favorite scene…was Martin’s death scene. It wasn’t believable for me, and both actors (Tatum and Mara) didn’t seem like they were trying all that hard to convince me either.
(4) When the credits started rolling all I could think was, Dr. Banks – you are a dick after all. Seriously, I could not believe he pulled that shit! Emily being sent to a mental hospital, granted she wasn’t the most level headed person, but she was not suffering a mental illness. I thought that this kind of attitude, where a mental health facility is a way of punishing someone, was inappropriate. But that might be the nursing student in me speaking, I’m just saying. I didn’t get that whole “YEAH, SEND HER AWAY” vibe, I was just really upset that this is where the movie decided to end up. Of course, I’m aware it was most likely done as a way to dramatize the plot; I just didn’t like the mental health facility as being depicted with negative connotations.
(5) I liked the fact that this movie showcased therapeutic communication between patients and their therapists…in the beginning. LOL! It obviously gets a bit chaotic when shit hits the fan, but before all that I like hearing the patient and therapist interaction. Along the same lines I liked that there was no mention of stigma for depression or seeking treatment for depression, so super kudos. But their drama at the end kind of stomped over that by its misuse of power in the field. No movie is perfect…i guess.
(6) I think we should stick to another movie this upcoming week. We had some good ones listed in our original Breaking Netflix post!
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October 5, 2013 at 3:46 pm
1.) I thought the movie was okay. The acting was generally good as was the story and plot. The way story was told left something to be desired in my opinion. The build up to this movie was quite long, which made the main plot and the development of it feel kind of rushed. The problems (that is the domino effect you spoke off earlier), and especially the solution to them, happened rather sudden with a lot of tada! There was never any confusion or back and forth or unraveling the thing clue by clue, it was mostly just a heureka moment by that guy that was the main character whos name I can’t remember right now. Maybe this story would have served better as a mini series.
2.) My favourite character was probably the main character guy. Least favourite was probably the sleepy lady, some of her decision making felt kinda off.
3.) I liked the scene where he had the talk with the moustache guy that was one of his, by now, former partners. Because it explained a big life lesson on how people work. Take notes!
4.) As stated above I felt the conclusion was rather rushed. The outcome felt kind of lackluster as well. In fact I feel like it would have been more interresting if that sleepy lady would ahve gotten away with it because of the double jepordy thing. Not because I feel that would have been more just or whatever. But simply because it would make for a more interresting story, and it would invoke more of an emotional response. The whole I’m gonna manipulate you into a psychiatric ward felt kind of forced. Like they forgot about her during the writing and were like ‘o uhhh I guess she has to be sort of punished as well somehow’.
October 5, 2013 at 3:57 pm
You are so gad-damn-Dutch. Moving right along…
I do agree with you there Svemmy, the unraveling was all at once (minus slight hints a bit earlier) and the conclusion was equally rushed. But its been a while since I had a chance to see a film that genuinely caught me off guard, so I have to give some kind of credit!
Your explanation reminds me of how Kim recites things as well “sleepy lady,” “main guy,” “mustache guy”…that last one I kind of forgot about until you wrote about him. You and Kim should be friends :3
I didn’t even consider an alternate ending where Emily (sleepy lady) gets away with everything. I do think that would have been more interesting! Also the double jeopardy completely slipped my mind…suddenly I get why they pulled the whole dramatic mental facility ending. LOL! I guess when I watched it my interpretation of what was happening was that Dr. Banks was simply seeking revenge.
October 5, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Also I think we can do one of the series as well next, Just do only the first 3 or whatever, instead of the whole first season.
October 5, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Which series? O:
October 5, 2013 at 4:07 pm
I did not mean one in particular. Just one of the ones listed earlier. Maybe Derek? Because I have already seen a few episodes and I kind of liked it.
October 6, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Adding ittt tooo theee poastt
October 5, 2013 at 5:20 pm
Omg, I just spent literally 10 minutes wiping tears from my eyes, from laughing at the least favorite scenes drawings!!! that was awesome!!! DISCLAIMER: ( I do not think stabbing anyone is funny ) but the way you drew it was phenomenal!! Thanks!!!
October 6, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Lol, I’m glad you enjoyed it – cause that scene was just awful. Just such bad, terrible, acting,.
October 6, 2013 at 11:08 am
What did you think of the movie? Did you like it/not like it?
– It was a fine, entertaining movie with good looking actors. What more can you ask for? I thought the plot was interesting and the movie kept me hooked until the end, I thought the scene where she gets taken away as unnecessary. Does that mean Dr. Banks is a resentful motherlover looking for revenge?
Who was your favorite or least favorite character(s)?
– I didn’t really have a favorite or least favorite character. I likes Mrs. Banks for her levelheaded, she was thinking “are you freaking kidding me? I got real problems unemployed with a mortgage and a kid!” She was not putting up with shit, I admire that.
What was your favori scene?
– The scene when he drugs her and then takes the evidence to the DA and says it was saline water! You sneaky son of a beautiful mother! Before the DA shut that path down I checked the clock before for sure I thought the movie was coming to the end but noooo it was just the beginning of the end.
How did you feel when the credits started rolling?
– The only thing I could think of was “why is she being so creepy?” “That hospital is very big, no it is massive!” “That is a lot of traffic, so much traffic yet all these cars would fit in one wing of this building” I also wondered about the air quality of the place.
October 6, 2013 at 12:28 pm
Dr. Banks definitely was a “resentful motherlover” LOL! Makes me question his sanity, if he thinks it is okay to send Emily away to a psych ward. IRONY OF THE THERAPIST BEING AS UNSTABLE AS THE PATIENT? This movie was made for hipsters.
It seemed as though Mrs. Banks was going through her own thing all together – something that maybe Dr. Banks should have tried to assist in. But he was too busy with his work. Regardless of the severely dramatic events, it seems there could have been issues between them.
LOL Beginning of the end. Its true. I felt like I knew there was something up with the drug before he gave it to Emily. I just didn’t know what specifically. Sneaky, sneaky sir.
LMAO! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU WOULD NOTICE THE TRAFFIC! Omg, even when you’re not in the bus, you can’t help but notice transportation systems else where, lol.
October 6, 2013 at 12:29 pm
OH, you didn’t say what you wanted to watch this upcoming week!!!
October 6, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Good Bless America (movie)
Pink Ribbon Inc. (Documentary)
October 6, 2013 at 12:41 pm
ADDING TO ZE LIST!
October 6, 2013 at 12:39 pm
The Ambassador
The Sea Inside
October 6, 2013 at 12:41 pm
I haven’t heard of either one of these two, I need to do some investigating!
October 10, 2013 at 2:35 pm
I’m so happy you reviewed this movie because I just watched it on Netflix the other day. It was surprisingly really good! I didn’t know what to expect other than there’s a drug with side effects lol AND Channing Tatum. I always made fun of this movie whenever I saw the trailer for it, being a person who does take medication for Depression, anxiety, etc. It’s the idea that you’re somehow crazy if you take these meds.
Anywho, the movie kept me hooked until the very end! I did not want that crazy bitch to get away with killing Channing Tatum in cold blood! I mean, wtf!? I’m glad his mother got to slap her in the face at the end! Besides that, this movie kept me thinking about the whole plot until bedtime because I was so surprised by it!
<3
Christina
October 10, 2013 at 2:49 pm
I did clap when Tatum’s mom slapped Emily LOL!
I agree, the plot left me thinking about the movie the rest of the day. It was something I hadn’t expect to happen and at the same time I was left rather unsatisfied with. A lot of the revenge aspects of the film did not leave me cheering for one person or another, it just made me feel rather sour about their actions. Not sure if that’s what they were going for, but a good film no less!