Side Effect
Steven Soderbergh is one of the contemporary directors who has been able to demonstrate that he knows how to deal with the thriller genre in all its forms and sub-genres. Even when dealing with very traditional plots, he always creates a convincing work in which he does not fail to deal with themes dear to him. This is the case of Side Effects, in which Soderbergh is vaguely inspired by Fatal Attraction and certain Hitchcock cinema. Emily ( Rooney Mara ) and Martin Taylor ( Channing Tatum ) are a young, beautiful, and wealthy couple. Their luxurious and perfect life is turned upside down when Martin ends up in jail for insider trading. His sentence served, and Martin returns home but Emily shows signs of depression and attempts to commit suicide. The girl decides to rely on the psychiatrist Jonathan Banks ( Jude Law ), who prescribes a drug recommended by Emily’s previous therapist ( Catherine Zeta-Jones ).
Steven Soderbergh continues his recent authorial path focused on the analysis of human behavior, emotional ties and the evils of American society. Which began with Contagion and subsequently continued with Unsane . Written by Scott Z. Burns this thriller can count on a composed and elegant form and a capable and spot-on cast for the roles at stake . Although the plot is traditional in its development. Soderbergh and Burns don’t fail to dwell on medicine and the American health system, representing everything that doesn’t work. Side Effects is therefore a thriller film to see. To continue to appreciate the work of Soderbergh in this film genre.
Only God Forgives
Only God Forgives is a 2013 film, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling. In Thailand, more precisely in Bangkok, the story of Julian (Ryan Gosling), owner with his brother Billy of a Thai boxing club, develops. This helps as a cover for drug dealing. The older brother rapes and kills an underage prostitute and a retired policeman captures him, Chang. Chang stands as a judge and executioner of the crime. In short, this is the plot of a film that lives on sensations, metaphors and narration through images in spite of history. As already done with Drive. Refn tackles the genre in his own way, leaving out the basic importance of the plot to give space to surrealism. Photography is the master, made of neon lights and discordant colors, against the background of a rarefied, isolated and nocturnal Bangkok.
In fact were it not for The Neon Demon , released in 2016. It could be said that this Only God Forgives is the artistic summa of the Danish director. In fact, in addition to the form, Refn investigates important themes and contents such as violence, revenge, the sense of guilt. A fundamental role in the film is the hands, a symbol of man’s power. It was also the first image that came to the director’s mind when he thought of the film. A man watching his hands clenched into fists. You take away a man’s hands and take everything from him, his power and will are mutilated.
Enemy
Enemy , a 2013 film based on the book by Josè Saramago The duplicate man. Directed by Dennis Villenueve, known for his films as Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and Prisoners . But before his recent success, he directs this unusual thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Melanie Laurent. The story in fact is that of Adam Bell, a university professor of history. One day finds a film in which a secondary character is identical to himself. From this event the search for the double will begin. Simultaneously which will open reflections on identity, one’s life, desires and regrets.
This Shutter Island-style film, The Sleepless Man or The Ward, differs from the mainstream. However It has a powerful component of psychological metaphors and reflections within it. Speaking of this, the figure of the spider will be very important. Which weaves the webs both in the city where Adam lives and in his life. The film was presented in competition at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2013 and released in Italy only on 24 October 2017. After four years Italian productions have finally understood that such a film released in our country.
Prisoners
In a small town in Pennsylvania, on Thanksgiving day, two little girls, Anna and Eliza, disappear without a trace. Detective Loki ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) is called to investigate, and he arrests a retarded young boy. However, the evidence against him was weak so they freed the young man. Keller Dover ( Hugh Jackman ), father of little Anna, reacts negatively and his irrepressible thirst for justice leads him to perform extreme and not very moral acts in order to find his daughter again. In a labyrinth of suspects. The small provincial town begins to reveal the rottenness that hides under a seemingly orderly facade.
After Enemy , Denis Villeneuve returns to thriller atmospheres by staging a police investigation that reveals the true identity of the American province . In the well-thought-out suspense plot each character reveals the contradictions of modern America, where chaos, the inability to act correctly. The loss of faith and morality are hidden under the desire for order and justice. Once again, therefore, Villeneuve realizes a remarkable thriller, supported by the excellent script by Aaron Guzikowski and by the impeccable and leaden photography by Roger Deakins. Also noteworthy is the stellar cast consisting of Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano and Melissa Leo. Among the best thriller films to see in recent years.
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