Side EffectsMovie Reviews


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Avg. Critic Score: 75 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 90
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    In another sense, though, everything is exactly what it seems, expertly crafted and cleverly compounded for high-dose entertainment. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Side Effects is Soderbergh in full, flinty vigor. It's anything but a formula murder mystery. Read full review

  • 88
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    Side Effects, chilly and noirish, and boasting a wily performance from Catherine Zeta-Jones as a therapist who worked with Emily earlier in her adulthood, is, Soderbergh says, his swan song. Read full review

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Side Effects is mostly a good Saturday-night movie, but by the end, it's caused a few unintended side effects of its own: a bit of head-scratching, and a giggle or two of disbelief. Read full review

  • 80
    New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier

    The movie respects a viewer’s intelligence, which should also serve as a warning; don’t be lulled into a stupor. Keeping sharp will allow all the fun and menace in this terrific thriller to seep into your head. Read full review

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    A sleekly clever murder mystery, the film plays as many games with the audience as it does with its characters, and for the majority of the running time — the challenge comes from matching wits with what you’re seeing. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    It's a gripping, maddening and thoroughly satisfying thriller, made with artfulness and integrity. Soderbergh sees things in his actors and gets things from them that other directors don't. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Todd McCarthy

    In trying to merge this alarmist theme with an old-fashioned murder mystery, the filmmakers throw at least one plot-twist sucker-punch too many, leaving the viewer with an “Oh, come on” reaction to the entire film. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Scott Bowles

    Like a lot of meds, it loses its effectiveness over time, and you'll build a resistance to Effects eventually, particularly when it dissolves into a standard crime flick. Read full review

  • 35
    NPR | Mark Jenkins

    The movie maintains its sense of style throughout, but that hardly matters as the story just gets stupider and stupider. Read full review

View more reviews for Side Effects on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Thriller's twisty plot overshadows thought-provoking themes.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects is a twisty thriller centered on psychiatry and antidepressants. There's murder (by stabbing) and blood, as well as some argumentative, aggressive scenes in hospitals. The main character appears topless and mostly naked and participates in more than one strongly suggestive sex scene with her husband; there are also sensual scenes between two female characters. Language is strong but not constant and includes a few uses of "f--k" and "s--t." Drugs are perhaps the movie's main issue, with the main characters taking many different types of prescriptions and reacting in various ways. The movie never really seems to endorse or condemn these drugs, leaving it up to the viewer to decide. Older teens may find the questions the movie raises interesting, and it may open up important discussions with their parents.
  • Families can talk about how Side Effects depicts prescription drugs. Does it make antidepressants and other medications look appealing? Do the consequences seem realistic?
  • What is the movie saying about turning to medication as a solution for problems? How much work does the main character put into getting better, and how much of it is the responsibility of the pills?
  • Talk about the major violent scene. How necessary was it to the story? Does it add or take away from the movie's themes?
  • Which of these characters (if any) did you end up rooting for? Are any of them role models?
The good stuff
  • message true1 Positive messages: The movie raises thought-provoking questions about whether society is too quick to medicate our problems. It also raises questions about whether medication is necessary or effective.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Though one character starts out by genuinely trying to help another character in need, nothing is quite as it seems. The characters in this movie are mostly selfish, conniving, greedy, and even homicidal. They make poor choices and don't learn anything positive or grow in any positive way.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: A bloody murder, via stabbing. It's foreshadowed in the opening minutes of the movie, with a trail of blood leading through a home. A character attempts suicide by crashing a car into a wall and puts herself in danger in another situation as well. Various scenes of arguing, screaming, and struggling.
  • sex false4 Sexy stuff: The main character is shown topless and mostly naked. She has more than one sex scene with her husband, with sex noises and thrusting shown (male nudity isn't shown). A sensual kiss and sexual suggestion between a psychiatrist and her female patient.
  • language false4 Language: Language isn't constant but includes a few uses of "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "damn," "goddamn," and "oh my God."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Many actual antidepressants and other drugs are mentioned by name, and they're shown as consumer products that patients should desire. A fake drug, Ablixa -- complete with advertising (and a website) -- is part of the movie's plot. Red Bull, Yahoo!, Volkswagen, BMW, Rolling Rock beer, and Visine products/brand names are shown and/or mentioned.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Though the movie isn't about substance abuse, it's heavily about the use of antidepressants and other prescription medications. It's also about the side effects of these drugs. The main character is shown to be on several different kinds of drugs, behaving in different ways. Overall, though, the movie never truly endorses or condemns these drugs. Social drinking by adult characters.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Exclusive Features

Cast Interviews Exclusive Cast Interviews Channing Tatum and Rooney Mara talk about the twists in the film, Jude Law on playing a victim and Vinessa Shaw on her character's role being flipped upside down.