“A Dangerous Method” Not So Dangerous

by Erin Whitney

Knightley and Fassbender in "A Dangerous Method"

It’s disappointing that “A Dangerous Method” isn’t quite as dangerous as one would hope. The erotic drama starts off with paralyzing force and disturbing suspense, but director David Cronenberg only teases as the film turns surprisingly soft, embellished by gorgeous costumes and eloquent dialogue. It would be wrong to dismiss the sophisticated intelligence of “A Dangerous Method” however, since it is probably the most entertaining Carl Jung-Sigmund Freud biopic that will ever be made.

The opening of the film throws us head-on into a terrifying frenzy. We meet Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightly in her best performance yet), a young woman tormented by a traumatic childhood and a sexual fixation. The frenetic Sabina writhes and screams as men drag her from a carriage into an extravagant home in the Austrian countryside. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) enters and takes a seat behind Sabina to perform Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis on a patient for the first time. Sabina reacts like a horrified child, twitching madly, contorting her face into agonizing jaw-jutting expressions, tensing her mangled fingers, breathing like an angry demon. Cronenberg’s close-ups of Knightley’s staggering performance is disturbingly frightening, to say the least. Anxiety has exploded passed the breaking point; if your face hasn’t frozen into a stupefied expression, you’re probably passed out.

Yes, Knightley’s performance is this astounding; the best of her career and the best of any actress this year thus far. She carries the film valiantly, acting as the catalyst that unites and divides Jung and Freud, as well as the catalyst for the film’s intense moments. We learn that Sabina suffered from childhood abuse, causing her to have an addiction to violence and sex. Jung decides to contact Freud, whom he has yet to meet, in order to further discuss his work and the success he’s had in using the “talking cure” on Sabina. The two develop a disciple-mentor relationship, Jung as the eager, curious student, Freud (played with refined dignity by Viggo Mortenson) as the smug, erudite expert. But as Sabina gets better and moves from Jung’s patient to mistress, so does Jung’s relationship to Freud alter. As Jung’s name becomes more well known in the psychology field as a competitor, so does word of his affair.

In a few kinky scenes Jung whips Sabina before sex, always wearing a stern detached look as she cries out in ecstasy. But are these instances enough to translate Jung’s growing love for Sabina, his need to surrender to his unconscious desires? Why are sexual moments so brief, so distant and placid in a Cronenberg film, an expert of horror and intensity? Cronenberg is too cautious, too conservative with the subject matter. Not that sex should be exploited, but Cronenberg owes us, and the story, more risk. The calm, distanced tone of the film feels like a betrayal after the riveting opening. Although interspersed with some thrilling moments, Cronenberg merely dangles the carrot above our heads. And sadly, we don’t even get a bite in the end.

The dialogue is intelligent and engrossing, but the majority of it is presented through letter writing. Although true of the period—just as the gorgeous costumes and sets are —the back-and-forth letter voice-overs become excessive. It is at first a clever technique, but through overuse it only diminishes the potency of the film’s dramatic tension.

Fassbender is spectacular with a fierce restraint throughout, but when he breaks down and yields to his emotions is not as believable as it should be. His severe reticence is so cogent and overwhelming that it triumphs his attempt to reveal his concealed weak, passionate self. There is too stark a contrast between his battling dispositions, which unfortunately contributes to a strong failure of the film’s plausibility.

It appears there are more shortcomings to “A Dangerous Method” than praises, however it should be noted that it is a fine film with commendable performances. But for the expectations set in the beginning, and the expectations for any Cronenberg film, its difficult to leave the film feeling satiated. Maybe Cronenberg was attempting a new approach, maybe the power lies in the unconscious undertones, or maybe I just wanted more hysterical Knightley outbursts.