A Dangerous Method
David Cronenberg (A History of Violence) directs this true drama based on the turbulent love triangle that developed between two towering intellectuals of our age - Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and protege Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) - and a troubled patient (Kiera Knightley).
Based on the play The Talking Cure by Christopher Hampton, which was based on the nonfiction novel A Most Dangerous Method by John Kerr.
- Director:
- David Cronenberg ('The Fly', 'Videodrome', 'Crash', 'eXistenZ', 'Eastern Promises', 'A History of Violence')
- Writer:
- Christopher Hampton
- Cast:
- Viggo MortensenMichael FassbenderKeira KnightleyVincent CasselSarah Gadon
Reviews & comments
Total Film
pressThe talky emphasis may alienate, but Cronenberg’s psychoanalysis session offers wry writing, elegant direction and fine leads.
Time Out
pressThe most compelling scenes are those between Mortensen and Fassbender, while Knightley gives a fair performance but lumbers herself with a distracting accent, and her gurning in the early scenes may be too much for some to bear.
The New York Times
pressFull of ideas about sexuality - some quite provocative, even a century after their first articulation - but it also recognizes and communicates the erotic power of ideas.
San Francisco Chronicle
pressInstead we get Knightley, who juts her chin, quakes, shakes and bugs her eyes, but nothing about her pain calls out to us, because nothing in it seems real.
Rolling Stone
pressThe actors give it their all, especially Knightley, whose jaw- jutting, heavily accented and unfairly criticized portrayal gives the film its fighting spirit.
Roger Ebert
pressUsing a dialogue-heavy approach that's unusual for Cronenberg, his film is skilled at the way it weaves theory with the inner lives of its characters. We are learning, yet never feel we're being taught.
IndieWire
pressIn the movie's final shot, Jung's confidence crumbles and he looks supremely troubled, still uncertain of a world he once believed could be explained with textual prowess. Better than any analysis, his expression sums up the dangerous method at the heart of every Cronenberg movie.
Hollywood Reporter
pressPrecise, lucid and thrillingly disciplined, this story of boundary-testing in the early days of psychoanalysis is brought to vivid life by the outstanding lead performances of Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender.
Empire Magazine
pressDespite a top-notch cast performing well, and bravely in the case of Knightley, this is an austere, somewhat repressed movie. It never really gets under the skin in the way Cronenberg does at his best.
A.V. Club
pressSpielrein's name is less familiar than the others, but the film suggests she deserves to be more than a footnote in the history of psychoanalysis.
The movie was a vehicle to explore the history of Freud and Jung and their ultimate differences. Those discussions were the only viable content of the movie. Knightley was annoying, Emma was too dinky when in truth both were strong women who went on to become successful psychoanalysts themselves. But name 'stars' and a good spanking are the stuff that...
Extract from Theaterofthecommonman.com Many will argue with my conjecture that film makers such as Cronenberg walk a fine line between mastery and ineptitude. On the one hand you have a man who has remained true to vision, a true auteur by definition, on the other the hand his warped stance on existence means that often the audience is left wondering one...
David Cronenberg, undoubtedly one of the most provocative film makers (Videodrome, Naked Lunch and Crash instantly come to mind), comes up surprisingly short in hitting the mark here. The idea of sexual repression serves as a narrative backbone. The turbulent relationships between Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sabina Spielrein...
Despite the material being a potential treasure chest of intellectual and emotional food for thought, for me this movie was underwhelming, to say the least. I never felt quite involved and even found myself surprisingly bored at times, despite the beautiful cinematography and the brave attempts by the actors to bring everything to life. Keira Knightley,...
Total Film
pressThe talky emphasis may alienate, but Cronenberg’s psychoanalysis session offers wry writing, elegant direction and fine leads.
Time Out
pressThe most compelling scenes are those between Mortensen and Fassbender, while Knightley gives a fair performance but lumbers herself with a distracting accent, and her gurning in the early scenes may be too much for some to bear.
The New York Times
pressFull of ideas about sexuality - some quite provocative, even a century after their first articulation - but it also recognizes and communicates the erotic power of ideas.
San Francisco Chronicle
pressInstead we get Knightley, who juts her chin, quakes, shakes and bugs her eyes, but nothing about her pain calls out to us, because nothing in it seems real.
Rolling Stone
pressThe actors give it their all, especially Knightley, whose jaw- jutting, heavily accented and unfairly criticized portrayal gives the film its fighting spirit.
Roger Ebert
pressUsing a dialogue-heavy approach that's unusual for Cronenberg, his film is skilled at the way it weaves theory with the inner lives of its characters. We are learning, yet never feel we're being taught.
IndieWire
pressIn the movie's final shot, Jung's confidence crumbles and he looks supremely troubled, still uncertain of a world he once believed could be explained with textual prowess. Better than any analysis, his expression sums up the dangerous method at the heart of every Cronenberg movie.
Hollywood Reporter
pressPrecise, lucid and thrillingly disciplined, this story of boundary-testing in the early days of psychoanalysis is brought to vivid life by the outstanding lead performances of Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender.
Empire Magazine
pressDespite a top-notch cast performing well, and bravely in the case of Knightley, this is an austere, somewhat repressed movie. It never really gets under the skin in the way Cronenberg does at his best.
A.V. Club
pressSpielrein's name is less familiar than the others, but the film suggests she deserves to be more than a footnote in the history of psychoanalysis.
The movie was a vehicle to explore the history of Freud and Jung and their ultimate differences. Those discussions were the only viable content of the movie. Knightley was annoying, Emma was too dinky when in truth both were strong women who went on to become successful psychoanalysts themselves. But name 'stars' and a good spanking are the stuff that...
Extract from Theaterofthecommonman.com Many will argue with my conjecture that film makers such as Cronenberg walk a fine line between mastery and ineptitude. On the one hand you have a man who has remained true to vision, a true auteur by definition, on the other the hand his warped stance on existence means that often the audience is left wondering...
David Cronenberg, undoubtedly one of the most provocative film makers (Videodrome, Naked Lunch and Crash instantly come to mind), comes up surprisingly short in hitting the mark here. The idea of sexual repression serves as a narrative backbone. The turbulent relationships between Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sabina Spielrein...
Despite the material being a potential treasure chest of intellectual and emotional food for thought, for me this movie was underwhelming, to say the least. I never felt quite involved and even found myself surprisingly bored at times, despite the beautiful cinematography and the brave attempts by the actors to bring everything to life. Keira Knightley,...
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