A Dangerous Method

Adapted by Christopher Hampton from his play The Talking Cure and John Kerr's book A Most Dangerous Method, filmmaker David Cronenberg's film serves up a cerebral chronicle of the complex relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, focusing on how a wily female patient came between them. In 1904, a hysterical young Russian woman named Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), arrives at Jung's clinic outside Zurich. Displaying feral behavior, Sabina is obsessed with masturbation, defecation, and sadomasochistic sex. Since she's obviously intelligent, Jung (Michael Fassbender) decides to experiment with Freud's revolutionary “talking” treatment and achieves remarkable success, as he reports to his wife (Sarah Gadon). Two years later, traveling to Vienna to meet his idol Freud (Viggo Mortensen), Jung is asked to treat a fellow psychiatrist, Dr. Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel). Depraved and openly defiant of social expectations, Gross encourages Jung to eschew professional ethics and pursue a sexual relationship with Sabina, who yearns to attend medical school. Jung does, spanking her to arouse and excite her sexually, evoking memories of her father's abuse. The film's most interesting moments are between Freud, who traces all psychosis to its sexual component, and Jung, who's drawn to mysticism and spirituality—these science-versus-superstition scenes crackle with intensity. Fassbender and Mortensen deliver insightful, disciplined performances, although Knightley's Sabina is unfortunately more caricature than character. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director David Cronenberg, “AFI's Harold Lloyd Master Seminar with David Cronenberg” (32 min.), a “making-of” featurette (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid historical film.] (S. Granger)