A Dangerous Method (B or 3/4 stars)
Set in Zurich & Vienna btwn. the years 1902-1913 (pre-WWI), 'A Dangerous Method' (directed by David Cronenberg) takes a look at the turbulent relationships btwn. inexperienced psychiatrist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), his mentor Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), & Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), the troubled but beautiful woman who comes btwn. their differing opinions of what eventually becomes psychoanalysis. When we 1st meet Sabina, she is being forcibly hauled, kicking & screaching - in the throes of a manic seizure - through the doors of Jung's Swiss clinic. She's an incredibly intelligent woman with aspirations of becoming a psychiatrist, but her repressed sexual desire/hysteria is what lands her as a patient in said clinic (her concerned/embarrassed father threw her in there). She starts as his patient - where Jung rehabilitates her using the new talking style of psychotherapy being developed by Austrian Sigmund Freud.
Over time, she becomes Jung's student; and eventually ... his lover. Sabina's neurosis, brilliance, & masochistic desires (one of the 1st women to be known to enjoy spanking) ultimately prove irresistible to him. But because of her, Jung's initially-respectful relationship with Freud becomes strained. Viggo's interpretation of Freud is of a cautious, conservative, unadventurous Jewish bourgeois husband whose focus on sexual repression as the source of neurosis led to the creation of psychiatry. This is in opposition to Jung, who had an open, intense passion (being the key word) for knowledge; leading to his new fields of study within psychiatry. Jung led an aristocratic lifestyle that was heavily influenced/restricted by his marriage with a long-suffering Emma (Sarah Gadon). Jung & Freud fell-out because of Jung's affair with Sabina, but they also fell-out because of their differing opinions of the scientific limits of psychiatric inquiry.
At the beginning, Jung felt trapped by the ethical/moral considerations of his affair with Sabina. He tried to resist & be a good husband to his affluent Aryan wife. He knew he'd be lowering himself to sleeping with a penniless Russian Jewish refugee. And he knew he was violating professional standards by giving-in to Sabina's eroticism. But he really did love her, and she loved him (even after she gets her act together, becomes a doctor, marries, & has children).
The screenplay (by award-winning Christopher Hampton) doesn't say that Jung or Freud is right, but rather shows them as flawed people whose quirks led to how they ultimately practiced psychiatry. I also found the dichotomies btwn. Jung & Sabina quite interesting: what constitutes man or woman, doctor & patient, Jewish & Aryan (playing a huge role just prior to WWI & what happens to them during WWII). In one instance of the man vs. woman dichotomy, Sabina leans over unexpectedly & kisses Jung. Jung says (paraphrasing): it is men who are supposed to make the first move. And Sabina responds, "Don't you think there is a little man in every woman, & a little woman in every man?" I actually think that the filmmakers saw Sabina as a sort of feminist heroine; but also a tragic one. She had to lose the man she loved to fit in with society, advance her sexual freedom, & become a professional in a world dominated by men.
I really enjoyed how this film is about these 3 individuals at this critical juncture of psychiatry each aided & hindered the other. Keira Knightley opens the film bravely with Sabina acting out as strangely as she does. It's a masterful performance that transitions from hysteria to a more refined character quite believably. Michael Fassbender is stellar as our tortured protagonist. We witness the ever-growing dilemma he has with his own libido. And yet, while Fassbender has his moments, he mostly allows Knightley & Mortensen to steal scenes. Viggo has just been nominated by the Golden Globes for his portrayal of Freud, & I now see why. It's a restrained performance, but one in which you can see & feel everything about the character in even his smallest gestures. Viggo's Freud is droll, cavalier, but also pompous & immensely egotistical (telling Sabina, in one instance, that it was a mistake to have slept with Jung ... a Gentile). I also liked a cameo appearance by Vincent Cassel as Otto Gross; a man with no sexual repressions, whatsoever.
Now, while 'A Dangerous Method' is a drama about the repression and/or liberation of Jung & Spielrein as they hone their psychiatric theories by practice ... I was surprised by how much humor is in the script (thanks mostly to Viggo's depiction of Freud). Of course, it's low-key humor; but humor, nevertheless. You know, though this film won't be for everyone, I personally found it to be a small, but beautifully mounted (cinematography, period sets, costumes, score), well-acted, fascinating inside look at how the ego's sexual barriers brought about the dawn of psychoanalysis.
Over time, she becomes Jung's student; and eventually ... his lover. Sabina's neurosis, brilliance, & masochistic desires (one of the 1st women to be known to enjoy spanking) ultimately prove irresistible to him. But because of her, Jung's initially-respectful relationship with Freud becomes strained. Viggo's interpretation of Freud is of a cautious, conservative, unadventurous Jewish bourgeois husband whose focus on sexual repression as the source of neurosis led to the creation of psychiatry. This is in opposition to Jung, who had an open, intense passion (being the key word) for knowledge; leading to his new fields of study within psychiatry. Jung led an aristocratic lifestyle that was heavily influenced/restricted by his marriage with a long-suffering Emma (Sarah Gadon). Jung & Freud fell-out because of Jung's affair with Sabina, but they also fell-out because of their differing opinions of the scientific limits of psychiatric inquiry.
At the beginning, Jung felt trapped by the ethical/moral considerations of his affair with Sabina. He tried to resist & be a good husband to his affluent Aryan wife. He knew he'd be lowering himself to sleeping with a penniless Russian Jewish refugee. And he knew he was violating professional standards by giving-in to Sabina's eroticism. But he really did love her, and she loved him (even after she gets her act together, becomes a doctor, marries, & has children).
The screenplay (by award-winning Christopher Hampton) doesn't say that Jung or Freud is right, but rather shows them as flawed people whose quirks led to how they ultimately practiced psychiatry. I also found the dichotomies btwn. Jung & Sabina quite interesting: what constitutes man or woman, doctor & patient, Jewish & Aryan (playing a huge role just prior to WWI & what happens to them during WWII). In one instance of the man vs. woman dichotomy, Sabina leans over unexpectedly & kisses Jung. Jung says (paraphrasing): it is men who are supposed to make the first move. And Sabina responds, "Don't you think there is a little man in every woman, & a little woman in every man?" I actually think that the filmmakers saw Sabina as a sort of feminist heroine; but also a tragic one. She had to lose the man she loved to fit in with society, advance her sexual freedom, & become a professional in a world dominated by men.
I really enjoyed how this film is about these 3 individuals at this critical juncture of psychiatry each aided & hindered the other. Keira Knightley opens the film bravely with Sabina acting out as strangely as she does. It's a masterful performance that transitions from hysteria to a more refined character quite believably. Michael Fassbender is stellar as our tortured protagonist. We witness the ever-growing dilemma he has with his own libido. And yet, while Fassbender has his moments, he mostly allows Knightley & Mortensen to steal scenes. Viggo has just been nominated by the Golden Globes for his portrayal of Freud, & I now see why. It's a restrained performance, but one in which you can see & feel everything about the character in even his smallest gestures. Viggo's Freud is droll, cavalier, but also pompous & immensely egotistical (telling Sabina, in one instance, that it was a mistake to have slept with Jung ... a Gentile). I also liked a cameo appearance by Vincent Cassel as Otto Gross; a man with no sexual repressions, whatsoever.
Now, while 'A Dangerous Method' is a drama about the repression and/or liberation of Jung & Spielrein as they hone their psychiatric theories by practice ... I was surprised by how much humor is in the script (thanks mostly to Viggo's depiction of Freud). Of course, it's low-key humor; but humor, nevertheless. You know, though this film won't be for everyone, I personally found it to be a small, but beautifully mounted (cinematography, period sets, costumes, score), well-acted, fascinating inside look at how the ego's sexual barriers brought about the dawn of psychoanalysis.