David Cronenberg, the director, decided to take on Freud and Jung in his latest film A Dangerous Method. The film was actually an adaptation by Christopher Hampton of John Kerr’s stage play – ‘The Talking Cure’ which in turn had been based on a 1993 non-fiction book by John Kerr called ‘A Most Dangerous Method’.
It follows how Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), the disfigured Russian schizophrenic patient of Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), eventually comes to terms with her condition thanks to his efforts; however, she also becomes sexually involved with him. When she arrives at his Zurich institute kicking and screaming in 1904, Jung, like Freud believes that it is only through verbal psychotherapy that patients with unbalanced minds can be cured (psychoanalysis).
Jung’s patient Sabina slowly recovers from her madness but also falls in love with her doctor. His affair is kept secret from Freud who is actually not angry with them doing it itself but lying about it. This makes Freud to lose faith in Jung thus breaking their long time friendship.
The movie is made up of numerous clinical shots plus some emotionally detached scenes typical of a play set on stage such as A Dangerous Method by Cronenberg. We witness great performances from the lead actors who accurately portray two trailblazers in modern day psychology, whose pioneering methods are now taken for granted.
But ultimately this is a drama about an ordinary human being who beds one patient while he lies about it ruining his marriage, mistress and friendship between friends and father figures. Furthermore, the story depicts a young man raised as his mentor’s replacement vocationally who rebels against old people ending up losing respect.
At times during the overly repressed Victorian era there were moments of dark comedy that Cronenberg did not fail to recognize this although the effect was a tragic portrayal of life destroyed by unethical actions committed by Jung. He presents himself as a man like any other as he reveals his true self in this act. Moreover, Freud correctly points out to Sabina that she’s being used by Jung who is an Aryan, which thus poses many more questions concerning his reckless behaviors.
However, Fassbender plays Jung with such a sad-eyed intensity that there is also some compassion for him left at the end of the film. The actor and the storytellers manage to humanize this historic figure; ditto Mortensen’s sly, nuanced depiction of Freud. Vincent Cassel pops up as Otto Gross, the anarchic psychoanalyst whose advocacy of sexual liberation shakes Jung’s views and inspires him to act on his own repressed passions.
This demands far more restraint than Knightley has ever shown before, threatening to push her into over-the-top campiness. The result is that Knightley and Cronenberg give us enough room for her emotional mannerism avoiding excessive exaggeration. As Knightley ages through their relationship with Jung and gets over her condition so does her acting become calmer.
Going by the budget and technicalities alone, production design, costumes, and cinematography are awesome but there are a few special effects sequences whose money constraints can be noticed hence taking you out of the film even if for a while. Ultimately Cronenberg has made an intellectual and captivating but not overly enjoyable movie that will create dialogue and interest however.
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