qz thoughtsSide Effects
Before watching this film, I was expecting a slightly-in-the-future drama with sci-fi elements for the "side effects" of the title. I was completely wrong. This is a in-the-present drama with fictional drugs having fictional side effects that seem completely plausible as actual drugs and side effects.
They are drugs for serious problems and side effects with serious consequences. If a patient's life is irreversibly ruined by a side effect, what responsibility does the doctor have? If the side effects a patient experiences end up causing someone else harm, who is responsible: doctor, patient, or drug maker? Those are some of the questions raised front-and-center in this film. The answers provided are clearly not universal, but the questions are worth consideration.
The actual story is complicated and very easy to spoil. This isn't a Crying Game twist at the end, but a rollercoaster of re-evaluating the previous action with new information.
Four years of a five year sentence for insider trading.
Spoilerish: I heard one reviewer compare it to Wild Things (not just because there is a lesbian relationship), and that seems a fair comparison.
Final thought: but don't watch this for the lesbian scenes, you'll be disappointed