MovieChat Forums > Side Effects (2013) Discussion > A few things I don't understand

A few things I don't understand

posted 11 years ago by TheCableGuy88
11 replies | jump to latest

1. Did Rooney Mara actually expect not to be found guilty of murder and either sent to jail or a psychiatric ward for killing her husband? Or did she think that the worst that could happen is that she'd be sent to the psychiatric ward but released fairly soon after? Otherwise, I can't see why she would go along with the whole crime, knowing that she'd be going to the jail/hospital.

2. Why was Rooney Mara sent back to the hospital at the end of the movie? She just admitted that she faked being depressed and murdered her husband... so shouldn't be sent to jail (since she's not psychologically sick)?

3. Why did her confession to Victoria get Victoria arrested but not Rooney Mara, even though there's a similar confession to Jude Law which all of a sudden gets her arrested? In other words, how come Double Jeopardy worked to keep her from getting arrested when she confessed to Victoria, but not to Jude Law?

[–] zauriel7380 11 years ago

1. The whole plan was to blame the Ablixa and Dr. Banks. They (her and Victoria) knew she'd be sent to a mental hospital for evaluation and would eventually be dismissed since she wasn't really depressed.

2. She was already tried for the murder, that's where double jeopardy applied. Remember all this time she was still under the care of Dr. Banks. When he started figuring everything out he would make it seem that Rooney was indeed mentally unstable. She was set up by Banks at the end with everyone waiting outside his office after she blew up on him.

3. Double jeopardy means that you can not be tried twice for the same crime. Therefore no jail time for Rooney.

[–] hilaryjrp 11 years ago

I don't care what tortured explanation anyone gives, this film was not only a piece of crap, it ridiculed the subject that at first made it seem so engrossing: the side effects of psychotropic medication. I couldn't believe it, when what seemed at first a serious movie morphed into a 80's-style psycho-lady-killer flick.

[–] przgzr 8 years ago

But ALL of them, doctors and agents from pharma industry, agreed that it COULD have been a side effect... so whatever turn the movie made later the subject has been revealed and not erased, rejected or covered up.

[–] libertino85 11 years ago

I agree. During the beginning, I was emailing friends to watch it. By the end of the movie, I was trying to retract the emails...

[–] nachoguy50 11 years ago

Why were you emailing in the middle of the movie? Perhaps if you had paid attention you would have understood it better and like it.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nachoguy50 11 years ago

1. Of course not, it was the ablixas fault! After a short stint in the mental hospital she will get out and have a secret stash of money with her lover. I'm sure she weighed the money she was getting against the penalty of being institutionalized and the risk of prison. It was a calculated risk and she thought it would pay off.

2. Who cares what she said she is bat *beep* crazy. Remember?
A. She has a history of depression with several doctors spanning several years
B. She crashed her car in an apparent suicide attempt.
C. She was standing suicidally close to the subway train (a calculated move)
D. She has a history of being on psychotropic drugs
E. She killed her husband and has no apparent memory of it

Those things don't go away just because she said she faked it. Actions speak louder than words.

3. Everyone seems to be missing this. It wasn't her confession that got victoria arrested, It was victoria's own admission of guilt that got victoria arrested.
She didn't get "arrested" by Jude, she got sent back to the mental institution because she was violating the terms of her release. Jude of course planned this all out, but it makes sense. It is her word against his, and she isn't very reliable. See point #2.

[–] przgzr 8 years ago

This was legally and professionaly a bit over the edge of ethics, but would you let a proven coldblooded murderer to live unpunished in your neiborhood if there is a chance to keep her behind any kind of bars?

[–] WellnessGuy 10 years ago

Answers to:
Q1 - She and Victoria expected her to be released pretty quickly.
Q2 - Double jeopardy - Was found innocent of murder by reason of insanity. Can't be retried for the same crime if found innocent.
Q3 - She wasn't sent beck to hospital for committing murder. She was sent back for not following her court-ordered treatment.
!!! However, I see one glaring hole in this plot that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere.
There were two major crimes committed - murder and securities fraud.
Surely, when Dr Seibert was arrested for murder AND securities fraud, Emily should also have been arrested for securities fraud, right?

[–] kincaid-5 10 years ago

Emily apparently made an agreement to wear a wire and to flip on Dr. Seibert in exchange for immunity. (The prosecutors agreed to that because it was the only way they would get anyone on the fraud.)

The real plot hole -- as I argued in a different thread (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2053463/board/nest/223834372) -- was that Dr. Banks would never actually get away with the scam he's running on Emily.

http://redkincaid.com

[–] LeenyBabii 8 years ago

Emily mentioned when telling Banks the scheme that the stock or bonds or whatever it was called that got them the money that it was all in Seibert's name, so they wouldn't have had anything on her for that. Seibert put the money they gained in two separate accounts, one for her and one for Emily, so she handled all the transactions.

Hope that helps =)