By Jeremy Hannaford (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: January 25, 2012
David Cronenberg’s films have always centered around sex and violence. In A Dangerous Method, the sex is violent, not only in provocative foreplay but also in the form of affecting one’s psychosis, so is the underlying message as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud converse and debate on the creation of psychoanalysis. Cronenberg delves into the themes that he is accustomed to, yet he still discovers something new. He keeps the camera glued to Michael Fassbender as they both uncover Jung’s secrets which can be shocking but after examining current lifestyles, not unusual.
Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortenson are as engaging as ever and, when put together, light up the screen with talent and wisdom. The chemistry between them is enthralling when they are praising each other’s ideas and accomplishments and it becomes intoxicating when their friendship begins to falter and their darker impressions of one another come to light. Keira Knightley becomes the character Sabina Spielrien in such a way that one would question her own sanity after watching this movie. From contracted facial movements to sporadic dialogue, her performance at first feels exaggerated, but it is engaging none the less.
A Dangerous Method is a more mature film for Cronenberg, yet it is his third collaboration with Mortenson. Viggo moves with a different flavour as he encompasses a man who truly believed that people were born with a single purpose and that changing that purpose was not only impossible but absurd. This is the basis for the growing agitations between Jung and Freud. Jung believes that through his treatment he cannot only save people from their own imprisonment, but also help guide them on a path to change their purpose. These arguments are the centrepiece of the film as they raise compelling, as well as controversial, suggestions to the theory of psychoanalysis.
While the film’s conversations are highly enthralling due to the superb acting and intelligent script, it does not hide the film’s odd faults. Although the film is in a linear fashion, it can still lose itself with the constant jumps in time as well as unusual breaks in sequences that could have opened more doors about the main characters. Other problems involve the sudden revealing of Jung’s belief in “supernatural” tendencies. The theory disappears as quickly as it arrives and it leaves an empty gap both in the story as well as in the audience’s mind as you try to understand where it all came from.
Cronenberg is never one to stray away from images that can be seductive as well as repulsive but with A Dangerous Method, he attempts to move in a more psychological direction and delves deeper into what one sees inside their own mind rather than what they watch on screen. Although there is a lot of information to take in (especially if you don’t know much about psychology) and there are moments of disillusion, there is no doubt that Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortenson make this film. The experience is engaging as you will be waiting for the next conversation of minds and theories between the two.
