Film Review: A Dangerous Method

Can the man who made bodyshock horror famous really make a movie about the birth of Psychotherapy? It would appear he can. David Cronenberg has always been somewhat of a cult hit director. Any student of film will no doubt spend hours discussing how Cronenberg has inspired and influenced many of his peers.  Like any Auteur, Cronenberg has his traits….body mutilation, dark backgrounds, trademark music. Any fool with access to IMDB can view a list of what makes a film a Cronenberg film. Even reviewers do it from time to time.

A Dangerous Method is being considered his least Cronenbergian (questions may be raised regarding that spelling) movie to date. Gone is the body manipulation, the gore and the explicit violence. What’s left behind are the things which Cronenberg should be better known for; his links between sex and violence, comments on the self destructive nature of humans and at the core of all his movies…..fantastic dialogue and characters.

A Dangerous Method explores the complicated relationship between Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortenson) as they develop what is now commonly known as Psychotherapy. Due to the nature of its subject matter A Dangerous Method doesnt include any car chases, dance numbers or big robots punching each other in the face. It perhaps may be a good idea for Optimus Prime and co. to sit down and discuss where it all went wrong, but this is neither the time nor the place to address those problems.

Forget for five minutes if you will that Mr Cronenberg has made this film. What plays out is interesting, insightful and beautifully made. Much like Moneyball succeeded in making a film about stats interesting, A Dangerous Method has made sitting around and talking about ones feelings very very interesting.  At the key of all this is Keira Knightley’s performance as Sabrina Spielrein, a troubled but intellegent patient who is the main guinea pig for this new talking treatment.  Knightley is fantastic portraying the trouble russian beauty, showcasing a performance which is opposite to her male counterparts.  As she describes her experiences and emotions she physically wretches in agony while the cool and calm gents express their views with subtle glances and gestures.  This brings a nice balance to the film and it’s refreshing to see Knightley take on something more challenging and bold.  Mortenson and Fassbender are as always fantastic.  The father son relationship that builds and crumbles is executed with excellent subtlety.  There are no shouty dramatic scenes here, instead just perfectly executed dialogue from two guys on the top of their game.  It is a shame to not see these two actors awarded more, it is only fitting that they appear in a film whose director has also been overlooked by academies and societies.

In many ways A Dangerous Method feels like Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige.  Not merely for its setting but for the friendship that slowly declines into a bitter rivalry.  The passing of time is often conveyed through journals and letters which works perfectly for the narrative.

Throw Crononberg back into the mix and you have the bravery of a director that refuses to shy away from potraying sexuality on screen.  Again the bravery and versitility of Knightley comes into play.  The sexuality of the topic of psychoanalysis is never glossed over nor is it exploited to get cheap thrills.  It is pitched at a perfectly adaquate level.

Spanking and talk of masturbation it may include but this is not the video nasty fan boy cult fodder that some would hope for.  Cronenberg’s die hard fans may be disappointed, many of them might frantically dash to internet forums and message boards to express their disgust in the king of living flesh.  The rest will hopefully show an appreciation for acting, direction, dialogue and the brave experimentation that has put Cronenberg on the map.  This film is another example of how the director brings stunning performances together with the style and class we associate with a Cronenberg film.  Long live the new flesh indeed.