Though at times unbearably tense, this is a highly entertaining thriller that makes its big twists work with the strength of the performances at its core. Jude Law and Rooney Mara (of the endlessly soulful eyes) are on top form as psychiatrist and patient dealing with what may - or may not - be a dangerous new "wonder drug." As someone who has dealt with serious depression and medication, many scenes in the film's first two acts touched a nerve with me in the way that a well-crafted film should.
This is a very elegantly made film with gorgeous color and lighting and expressive use of shallow focus that isolates the two central characters from the world around them. The ending may be a few degrees too tidy, and the film stops being boldly unpredictable at the beginning of the third act, but by that point I'd gotten so involved in the characters that I was glad to have the emotional satisfaction of mysteries revealed and wrongs made right.
Steven Soderbergh, who began as the archetypal scrappy indie filmmaker, has become an expert craftsman and without doubt our most versatile living director and it's a pleasure to watch him really enjoy his work.
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