A Dangerous Method

Movie Title--  A Dangerous Method

Release Year--  2011

Running Time--  1 Hour and 39 Minutes

Director--  David Cronenberg

Cast--  Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon

The relationship between Dr. Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud that creates the birth of psychoanalysis.

Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) is admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Zurich for hysteria.  The doctor that admitted her and that will be treating her, Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), has decided to use a new treatment on her involving word association and dream interpretation.  In doing this, he learns that her condition is brought on by humiliation and the sexual arousal she felt when her father used to make her strip nude and be spanked for her wrong doings that she was accused of but didn't commit.  Dr. Jung also learns through his sessions with her that she wants to become a doctor, more specifically, a psychoanalyst.  

As Dr. Jung watches her improve, he speaks with the head of the hospital Eugen Bleuler and they decide to allow Sabina to assist in Dr. Jung's experiments, helping him to gather data and working with the test subjects, since she plans on going into the very same field of study in the future.  Dr. Jung and the master of their craft, Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) start a correspondence and soon after they meet, becoming friends.

The more time Dr. Jung spends with Sabina, the more he realizes that they two of them share an attraction and he tries to fight it.  Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel), an unstable psychoanalyst, comes into Dr. Jung's care and Otto pushes Dr. Jung to pursue a relationship with Sabina.  Dr. Jung knows that Otto is against monogamy but takes what he says into consideration and finally gives in, beginning an affair with Sabina.  As this affair is taking place, Dr. Jung and Sigmund Freud continue to correspond, however Dr. Jung leaves out his affair with Sabina, and together their brilliant minds and sometimes turbulent relationship, help to shape the future of psychoanalysis.  

So, this film has a very interesting theme but it was presented in the most boring fashion.  Even the few scenes with a little bit of bondage and spanking (the spanking done by Fassbender and the recipient being Knightley) couldn't help make this film any more interesting.  I really think that this is a subject that a person would really have to be interested in in order to really find this film entertaining.  

Even the acting in this film seemed mediocre.  I don't really think that if they would  have been acting at their best it would have improved the this film for the viewer.  I would not recommend this film to anyone, unless you are going into this field of study and even then, it is probably a little over exaggerated at some points.  I say, just skip this one.  Until next time, Don't Forget the Popcorn!