A Dangerous Method
Review by Anthony Morris
It's the turn of the 20th century, and in Zurich
Dr Karl Jung (Michael Fassenbender) is working in the controversial new
field of psychoanalysis when a young Russian-Jewish woman, Sabina
Spielrein (Keira Knightley) comes into his care.
Supposedly suffering from "hysteria", the talking cure soon uncovers a
variety of personal issues that have led to her current state, and with
many of her kinks out in the open Jung is more than happy to help her
in her desire to become a psychoanalyst herself.
Meanwhile, Jung's relationship with his mentor Freud (Viggo Mortensen)
is increasingly fragile thanks to his growing personal relationship
with Sabina.
Freud is obsessed with the survival of his new field, and having its
leading practitioner embroiled in controversy – or increasingly
interested in areas verging on the supernatural - isn't exactly what he
had in mind.
David Cronenberg's latest move away from the “body horror” film that
made his name is, unsurprisingly as it was based on a play, heavily
performance based and the trio of main performances (with Vincent
Cassel as rival shrink Otto Gross) are all slightly surreal in various
ways.
This heightened realism actually works well once you get used to it:
Knightly is the most impressive as she pulls all manner of faces to
indicate her character’s internal turmoil, while Fassenbender is a
stuffed shirt with a heart of gold and Mortensen is, as you’d expect
from Freud, something of a coiled snake, always holding back, a threat
behind his smile and ever-present cigar.
The way the relationships play out between the trio are interesting but
(ironically) there’s not a whole lot of depth here.
The real punch comes with the realisation late in the piece that this
whole world would be wiped away by two world wars, the characters
neuroses eventually writ large across the entire continent, tearing it
apart.
3.5 out
of 5
A
Dangerous Method
Australian release: 29th March,
2012
Official
Site: A Dangerous Method
Cast: Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon, André Hennicke, Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey
Director: David Cronenberg
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