A top notch cast with an acclaimed director seemed like a sure shot winner. For that build up it misses the target for the most part.
Movie starts with Emily ( Rooney Mara ) meeting up with her husband Martin ( Channing Tatum ) being released from prison due to financial issues he was in the middle of with his company. He wants to just start his life were it was paused years ago. She on the other hand is depressed and everything about their lives are affected by it. She can't do her job with any energy, he can't assimilate back into the business world without worrying about her and when they are alone the tension in the air is thick as can be.
After a failed suicide attempt Emily is in the ER and she is attended to by John ( Jude Law ). She talks him into letting her leave as long as she promises to meet with him for consultations and to take meds that he proscribes. The meds are not working until she convinces John to give her a new drug that is being described as " taking your life back " in the hopes that it helps her marriage and life in general. In the beginning it does but the side effects are affecting the marriage yet again. The union takes a drastic turn for the worse and we find Emily in jail.
John is soon being ostracised but the medical community as being careless with Emily and is soon forced out of his practice by his employers. His own marriage starts to deteriorate and he seeks advice on the situation from a fellow colleague whom Emily saw a long time ago. Victoria ( Catherine Zeta-Jones ) trys to help John with insight on her treatment of Emily but he soon realizes that Emily has never told John the full story of her past. He trys to get Emily to tell him the truth so he can have his life back but he can tell that there is more to the story than she is letting on. As everything comes to a head he asks Victoria for help in the matter as well as the detectives that worked the case that put Emily behind bars. John finally gets his truth he was looking for but the damage to the people involved are high.
Verdict : Catherine and Jude are the highlights of the film as Emily just seems to be in a haze whether medicated or not. Channing is good for what part he is playing. The first 30 or so minutes of the movie is kind of hard to get through which makes the rest of the film which is entertaining less fulfilling since your expectations where taken away from the 30 minute set up part of the movie. This movie is OK to watch at home but no need to waste your money for the big screen.
Although the one big twist is about as fun as the movie gets, that plot twist and the thirty or forty minutes leading up to it make this movie a worthwhile and, for the most part, enjoyable film to go see. Solid review Matthew.
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