Movie Called Side Effect - Essay Example

Running Head: SIDE EFFECTS FILM PSYCHOANALYSIS OF SIDE EFFECTS FILM By Date Psychoanalysis of Side Effects Film Steven Soderbergh’s 2013 film Side Effects is a portrayal of the real psychiatric processes. The protagonist, Emily, goes through a traumatic aftermath when she supposedly murders her husband while sleepwalking (Wedding and Niemiec, 2014, p. 2022). The following paper discusses the movie Side Effects from a psychoanalytical perspective while focusing on Emily’s depression and the effects of its management on her and those around her.

Emily suffers from depression is the leading cause of her suicide attempts and murder (Brooks, 2013). The management of Emily’s depression revolved largely around the prescriptions that Banks gave her. Dr. Banks resorts to prescribing Emily Ablixa, a depression drug still undergoing trials. Although Emily complains to Banks about her sleepwalking and cooking, Banks dismisses it as a minor side effect (Brockway, 2013). Clearly, Banks dismissal was a wrong move considering it was a sign of Emily’s imminent psychotic break of murdering her husband.

The projection method of psychoanalysis entails the consideration of a patient’s inner world and its projection onto the outer world (Lemma, 2003, p. 225). If Banks thoroughly employed this method, he possibly would have foreseen the horrible effects of Ablixa. Emily’s persuasion skills on Bank’s stance in court have a psychological basis (De Mesa, 2013). After Emily awakens to Banks’ psychiatric care, he knows his persuasion skills can sway her ability to confess to the murder and find the root cause of her suicide attempt (Likierman, 2001, p. 127). Banks is afraid of Emily’s safety, especially after failing to kill herself successfully.

Rather than remaining under a relative’s supervision, Emily convinces Banks to continue living alone so long as she attends sessions regularly. Banks agrees and prescribes her Ablixa along with other antidepressants, which leads to Emily’s suicide attempt at a subway station. Viewers may empathize with this action but it is a projected behavior for a psychoanalyst. Emily was looking for attention from the police officer at the subway as she did from the doctor at the hospital when she pretended to pass out from an injection.

The prescribed drugs hasten Emily’s splitting process through the joint action of two medications (Brooks, 2013). Clearly, mixing Ablixa with other drugs quickened Emily’s splitting process because the sleep walking only began after Banks took over and her recent suicide attempt (Midgley, 2013, p. 61). The other prescribed antidepressants supplemented Abliza and enhanced the effects of the latter drug (Joseph, 2005, p. 42). As a result, Emily’s mind generated a greater effect that caused her sleepwalking, cooking, and murder.

This greater effect is hazardous to Emily although the first stages show normal behavior (Soderbergh, 2013). Emily’s splitting process also shows when she denies the connection between her financial problems and her depression. Not before long, Emily intentionally drives her car directly into a concrete wall, which poses as an apparent suicide attempt. It is probable that a treating psychiatrist may present oneself as a professional witness in a murder case (De Mesa, 2013). In this case, Emily did not even consider getting rid of Banks even though she preferred Dr.

Siebert’s advice and companionship. This preference originated from the romantic relationship Emily shared with Dr. Siebert. The director arguably puts Emily’s homosexual relationship with Dr. Siebert as a layer of motivation and dispute for viewers (Bass, 2013). However, Emily’s depression was a mask for her homosexual inclinations, particularly with Dr. Siebert. As a result, these inclinations and desires led her to murder her husband subconsciously (Greenberg, 2013). Siebert’s emotions for Emily are evident when Banks contacts her and tells her of Emily’s suicide attempt and she expresses deep concern.

In conclusion, Side Effects tests viewers’ intelligence and causes them to question characters’ psychological states. With the Emily as a victim and defendant, her depression prevented her from getting rid of Banks, her true healer, and rehiring Siebert (Watercutter, 2013). The way Emily’s psychiatrists and lawyers handle this incident reveals a true psychoanalytical process that provides viewers with a lot of insight on individuals with depression.ReferencesBass, A 2013, How Soderberghs New Movie Side Effects Depart From Reality.

[Online] Available at: [Accessed on 6 December 2014].Brockway, LS 2013, Soderberghs Side Effects: Could It Really Happen? [Online] Available at: [Accessed on 6 December 2014].Brooks, L 2013, “Side Effects” (Deconstruction #2) – Putting Concept to Work In the Narrative… Even Before You Write it. [Online] Available at: [Accessed on 8 December 2014].De Mesa, KR 2013, Movie review: Side Effects and the perils of pills for psychic self-defense. [Online] Available at: [Accessed on 8 December 2014].

Greenberg, HR, 2013, Film’s Side Effects Not Worth The Risks. [Online] Available at: [Accessed on 6 December 2014].Joseph, B 2005, The Paranoid-Schizoid Position in Susan Budd and Richard Rusbridger (eds.), Introducing Psychoanalysis: Essential Themes and Topics, Routledge, London and New York.Lemma, A 2003, Defences and Resistance in Introduction to the Practice of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Wiley, Chichester.Likierman, M 2001, Loss of the loved object Tragedy and Morality in the Depressive Position in Melanie Klein: Her Work in Context, Continuum, London and New York.

Midgley, N 2013, The Ego and Its Mechanisms of Defence in Reading Anna Freud, Routledge, London and New York.Soderbergh, S 2013, Side Effects. [Film]. Endgame Entertainment, New York, NY.Watercutter, A 2013, Review: Soderbergh’s Side Effects Will Make You Question Your Sanity — In a Good Way (Probably). [Online] Available at: [Accessed on 6 December 2014].Wedding, D and Niemiec, RM 2014, Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology, Hogrefe Publishing, Los Angeles, CA.