David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method” introduces us to renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung and his turbulent relationships with Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, a beautiful, young woman suffering from hysteria who becomes his patient and mistress. The film, however, fails to move beyond this basic framework and, after a fantastic opening featuring Sabina’s treatment through psychoanalysis, ends up being a series of vignettes of the protagonists’ intersecting lives. Unlike Cronenberg’s earlier films, “A Dangerous Method” fails to sustain a consistent mood, and thus starts to drag near the middle.The performances partly redeem the sinking film. As Sabina, Keira Knightley delivers a haunting performance as a mentally-disturbed, manipulative, and determined woman. Michael Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as Freud have excellent chemistry, but the film’s lackluster screenplay fails to provide an appropriate backdrop for their flair.
Ambivalent (C+)
fantastic description, bernardo. was thinking about seeing this, but am going to move it down the priority list now ! :)
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