Film: A Dangerous Method
Cast includes: Keira Knightly (Pride & Prejudice), Viggo Mortensen (The Road), Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan)
Director: David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises)
Genre: Period Drama based on actual events (2011)
In 1904 when Sabina is brought kicking and screaming to the psychiatric hospital in Burghölzli, Switzerland, she is obviously suffering from hysteria. But when her doctor Carl Jung meets her the next day, she insists she is not mad. Nevertheless, she will be required to meet every day with Jung for treatment. Jung has chosen Sabina as a good subject for a new kind of treatment… talking… a totally revolutionary approach for dealing with neuroses. Sabina struggles with much suppressed psychological baggage, and her dream of becoming a doctor may now be hopelessly out of reach. But in addition to the talking cure, Jung believes a working cure may be good for Sabina. And indeed, when Sabina helps with Dr. Jung’s patients, she proves to be quite intelligent and perceptive.
Carl Jung is a student of Sigmund Freud’s work. And when they finally meet in Vienna 2 years later, they have much to talk about. Freud is very impressed with the success Jung has had in treating Sabina… “a walking advertisement for psychoanalysis.” While Jung and Freud are on the same page regarding the value of talking, Jung is not as enthusiastic about Freud’s “obsession with sexuality.” Returning from Vienna, Jung is troubled by Freud’s inflexibility. It’s not that he doesn’t share some of Freud’s views, but “there must be more than one hinge into the universe of the mind.” However, events may soon conspire to force Jung to evaluate the relevance of sexual obsession in his own life.
The film covers a 10-year period, ending just before WWI. It gives us an interesting sampling of psychological theories from some of the pioneers of modern psychology. We can’t possibly come away with a deep understanding of these theories, because the film covers too much ground to delve deeply into specifics. It focuses primarily on Jung’s struggle to learn from Freud, without being overpowered by him… and his obsession with his beautiful protégé, Sabina. The film has many of the elements we want to see in a period drama, such as visual appeal and historic relevance. Keira Knightly’s performance as Sabina is a bit painful to watch, however. Some viewers may find the portrayal of Sabina hard to buy into. There have been many books, plays and films about Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and even Sabina Spielrein. Freud is considered the man who “opened the door into the study of psychoanalysis so that young men [and women] could walked through it.”
3 popped kernels
Talking was a revolutionary approach to psychology in pre-WWI Europe… sexual obsession was part of the conversation
Popcorn Profile
Rated: R
Primary Audience: Grown-ups
Gender Appeal: Any audience
Distribution: Art house
Mood: Neither upbeat nor somber
Tempo: Cruises comfortably
Visual Style: High-end production
Character Development: Engaging
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Informative & Thought provoking
