Tag Archives: Steven Soderbergh

Black Bag

Black Bag is compact. Tight. Succinct. Slick. Director Steven Soderbergh does not waste a frame in this 90-minute spy thriller. 

Plus it has a cool percussion heavy soundtrack from David Holmes who did those wonderful soundtracks for Soderbergh’s Ocean’s movies (11, 12 & 13.) Black Bag’s music has more of a 60s-70s feel to my ear.

From the opening shot of George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) walking through a boisterous nightclub for a meeting to the quieter setting of the dinner he serves his guests in his home, the story keeps you guessing as to what’s next and who’s the transgressor. Which is the point, right?

Woodhouse is charged with figuring out which of a list of intelligence operatives is sharing secrets with the other side. His methods include an uncomfortable game played with his dinner guests which takes a surprisingly violent turn.

Those guests from the spy agency include his wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett), Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke), Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela), Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page) and Dr. Zoe Vaughn (Naomie Harris). All of them, as well an agency guy played by Pierce Brosnan, are flawed and some of their missteps are known (or become known) to Woodhouse and to the film’s audience.

Revelations occur in sessions with therapist Dr. Vaughn, in interactions at agency HQ, via lie detector tests, via long distance observation of Kathryn’s visit to Geneva and even on a quiet lake in a fishing boat. And, of course, in private conversations between George and Kathryn.

Though marketing for Black Bag has stressed the issue of the married couple having to keep secrets from one another AND the issue of their not being able to completely trust the other partner, there’s more to the movie than that simple element.

Fassbender and Blanchett are both excellent in their roles and the other players make up a compelling ensemble. Soderbergh and writer David Koepp toss in Black Bag’s various narrative points at an occasionally rapid pace so don’t take a long potty break once the show starts.

Black Bag is rated R.

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Side Effects

Looking for a great movie for grownups? Side Effects satisfies! It has a suspenseful story, well told, and compelling characters, well portrayed.

Rooney Mara is Emily Taylor, a twenty-something in NYC who meets Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) after she drives her car into a brick wall. He’s a shrink who begins treating her for depression. Channing Tatum plays her sympathetic husband who’s just been released from prison where he served time for insider trading.

One of the medications Dr. Banks prescribes for Emily appears to help but has a significant side effect: it causes sleepwalking. When Emily commits a crime, her meds and Dr. Banks are called into question. The situation is complicated by the fact that Dr. Banks is taking money from a drug company for consulting on medications.

Side Effects steps into many timely and topical areas, including mental illness and its treatments. Also within the film’s sights is the pharmaceutical industry, as well as doctors who are in cahoots with those companies. After Emily’s crime, the blame and the repercussions remain unresolved.

Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Dr. Victoria Siebert, a Connecticut psychologist who treated Emily for depression before Dr. Banks. As the story unfolds, her involvement with the drug companies becomes a key plot point.

While there is no doubt that psychotropic drugs have helped many people with mental illnesses function normally, we know that drug companies have marketed products with dangerous (sometimes lethal) side effects. It’s easy to throw stones at large organizations that have questionable practices, but not always so easy to determine which individuals should suffer the consequences.

That’s the case in Side Effects. Who’s the good guy? Who’s the bad guy? And who’s in that gray area in the middle? See the movie and find out.

Side Effects is directed by Steven Soderbergh, whose movies are always interesting, even when they’re not as good as Side Effects. And, as with all his movies, the soundtrack is excellent. Thomas Newman is the music composer.

For Jude Law, this is his best performance in years. His stubble, worn in many scenes, gives him a more mature look. Rooney Mara was excellent in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but that was more of a caricature. In this role, she hits it out of the park as a real woman with real problems. Bravo!

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