A Dangerous Method

David Cronenberg is one of those directors that I am likely to see whatever film they are involved in. From the fantastic The Fly to the sublime Eastern Promises, he is an original and I always find his films thought-provoking if nothing else.

A Dangerous Method is about the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and the infant beginnings of psychoanalysis.

The film starts in 1904 with the arrival at Jung's Zurich clinic of Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), manic, desperate and having to be physically restrained by her companions. Using Freud's theories and method, Jung has success in calming her and eventually enabling her to use her intelligent inner mind. This leads to Jung writing to Freud about Spielrein and her treatment and the two develop a professional relationship based on discussing their theories and ideologies.

Jung and Spielrein embark on an affair which has far reaching consequences, on both Spielrein's mental health and Jung's ability to continue his work.

Despite seeing Freud as a surrogate father, their relationship breaks down when Jung disagrees with Freud's ideologies, particularly Freud's assertion that everything stems from sexual repression.

This is a film drenched in tension and intelligence and I found it interesting to watch. Knightley is fantastic as a deeply troubled young woman, indeed her chin should win awards for its performance. Mortensen was sublime as always and Fassbender has added yet another film to his list of excellent performances.

However, I felt the pacing was slow and drawn out at times. This is not an 'action' film at all, it is very much a conversational film, which was interesting, but difficult to follow at times. I felt the sex sciences were strange, but my guess is that is how Cronenberg wanted them done.

Despite the great performances, the film was let down by Cronenberg's direction somewhat. It felt restricted and the film didn't flow as well as it could have done.

Verdict: An interesting film about a fascinating subject with excellent performances. Let down by less than brilliant direction, but a film worth seeing nonetheless.