Soderbergh is retiring and his last film Side Effects doesn't look like a "good bye", but more like "I see you later." It's not that last Kubrik's Eyes Wide Shut, grandiose and stylish. It's an entertaining, dark thriller, perfect for a first date. It's not a final statement, and maybe that's the intention, or my wish. In this interview with Vulture he explains the reasons why he is retiring. "It’s a combination of wanting a change personally and of feeling like I’ve hit a wall in my development that I don’t know how to break through", he says.
I think it's a brilliant move. He can retire now and come back later when the audience misses him greatly. Before this last movie, last year he did Haywire that ended up in Netflix New Arrivals maybe too soon, and he was also fired from directing Moneyball, which went on to become a big hit.
He's a talented filmmaker and story teller nonetheless, who is able to tackle a wide range of complex topics in interesting ways, like he did with Traffic, Erin Brokovich or The Informant!, or just make a funny entertaining movie, like the Ocean's Eleven saga. He may have money issues. His movies tend to show how money corrupts, but who doesn't in a society like ours and even more after the recent crisis we have witnessed?
Side Effects belongs in that league too. It looks like a statement about the love-hate relationship this country has with antidepressants, and the multimillion industry behind it. The twist at the end doesn't change that. The bottom line is we don't trust this kind of medications and that's why the story is believable. It reminds me of The Informant! in that way. The secret scheme of the whistle blower and his bipolar disorder may turn our attention to a new different story, but the fact that companies all around the world are using price-fixing tactics, stays there in the background, like a subliminal idea in our minds.
Something that always called my attention about Soderbergh is his trust in new, young talent. I remember the production of Che in Puerto Rico. He hired local talent, most of them happened to be some of my friends and acquaintances in the University of Puerto Rico. I know that, for them, it was a lifetime experience having the opportunity to take part in this epic.
So I hope Soderbergh keeps being Soderbergh in whatever format he chooses, either if it's a TV show or a documentary. I can't wait to see his next art exhibition. I hope it's here in NYC.
