Adapted from François Mauriac’s novel of the same name, Claude Miller’s final film retells the story of provincial French life in the late 1920s with sombre beauty. Capturing the painterly quality of the vast pine forests of the Landes region the southwest, France, Thérèse Desqueyroux is a well-crafted drama of subtle charm.
In many ways, Side Effects is the perfect swan song for Soderbergh. Like many the films in his catalog, it is impeccably made, with the director showing his panache for composition, framing and editing throughout.
If you’re a fan of teenage fiction, especially the supernatural kind, you’ll anticipate the plot as you go along. Intense adolescent love, implied sex scenes that are powerful enough to quite literally start fires, long gazes with no words spoken, not to mention a bottomless bag-full of tricks, spells and special effects, Richard La Gravenese’s adaptation has it all.
The film’s closed environment of two friends talking is candid and equally engaging, while the insights into some of Polanski’s more memorable films is engrossing for any fan of the filmmaker’s work.
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