A Dangerous Method

Starring: Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) starts a complicated relationship with a patient (Keira Knightley) while working with Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) on the emerging field of psychoanalysis.

Review:

Tim: A Dangerous Method is an interesting effort by David Cronenberg. It is a steamy biopic of the two fathers of psychoanalysis, Jung and Freud, and yet, it never feels dry or boring. The film brings these famous figures to life in an interesting way. While the movie has some shortcomings, it features some terrific performances that elevate the movie. In the end, I thought this was a worthwhile effort, and a movie that deserves to be seen.

The movie is really a story about three people, brought to life by some very good performances. I loved Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung. Fassbender has quickly emerged as a real talent, and I thought he embraced this role extraordinarily well. He makes Jung a flesh and blood person- a complex, flawed, interesting man. In some ways, he is weak, in others, brilliant. I found his portrayal fascinating to watch. Fassbender is the real star of the film and his performance carries it. However, for all his strengths, I have to give the nod to his costar, Viggo Mortensen. It would be easy to overlook Mortensen in this film, because it's a smaller supporting role, and Fassbender is so good. I truly loved Mortensen as Freud. I never felt like I was watching him as an actor because he crawled inside this famous figure and made him real to me. I was amazed by his presence, his gravitas, his persona. He leapt off the screen at me, and he acted as I imagine Freud lived. Every second of his screen time was impressive, and I couldn't take my eyes off his performance. He was terrific.

That brings us to Keira Knightley. I really struggle with my thoughts on her performance. She certainly has terrific moments throughout the film. However, as a whole, I felt her performance was a bit suspect. Her accent is mostly good, but it occasionally feels forced and faked. She annoyed me with her over-the-top craziness in the early scenes of the film. She went back-and-forth between being really, really good, and only being lackluster. It's an odd performance to watch. In the end, I thought the strengths and weaknesses balanced each other out, and I felt somewhat unsure about what to think. It's certainly not a performance that rivals Fassbender or Mortensen.

The story is pretty fascinating because Cronenberg really gets to the heart of these people. Many biopics feel a bit forced- we're introduced to these characters and sit back and watch them be brilliant. Here, the brilliant work almost felt secondary. The main attraction is these fascinating, complex characters. That's an achievement.

This is not to say that everything is great with this film. The middle of the movie feels a bit soggy. Even at a brisk 99 minutes, the film feels like it drags in a few places. Knightley's uneven performance certainly hurts the movie. While fascinating in an intellectual way, the movie never really hit me on any kind of emotional level. The ending lacked a powerful punch and felt a bit unsatisfying to me. So, while the film has some real strengths, it also has its flaws.

While not great, David Cronenberg should be proud of the effort. He made an interesting biopic of Freud and Jung that never feels for a second like a history lesson. The movie is entertaining and engaging, and I really did enjoy it. I hoped I would like it, and I certainly did. This is a good movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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