A Dangerous Method (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon, André Hennicke, Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey, Mignon Remé Director: David Cronenberg Summary: In this David Cronenberg-helmed biopic, Viggo Mortensen stars as Sigmund Freud, whose relationship… More
  Cast: Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon, André Hennicke, Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey, Mignon Remé Director: David Cronenberg Summary: In this David Cronenberg-helmed biopic, Viggo Mortensen stars as Sigmund Freud, whose relationship with fellow psychology luminary Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) is tested when Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), one of the first female psychoanalysts, enters their lives. This World War I-set drama also stars Vincent Cassel as Otto Gross, a disciple of Freud, and Sarah Gadon, who plays Jung's psychoanalyst wife. My Thoughts: "There is no denying that this film has a fantastic cast of brilliant actors who did some great acting. But the story just about put me to sleep. I ended up playing a game on my phone for most of it. I just couldn't find an inch of myself caring about the story or it's characters. Michael Fassender and Viggo Mortensen were great together on screen and made me take notice. But the rest was just blah. I guess it is one of those films that are for some and not for others."

• Kase V

  
  David Cronenberg's historical biopic is about as interesting as it is disturbing. Both aspects are usually rife throughout a Cronenberg film. But many of his techniques are still missing, like the gore. But adaptability never hurt anyone. The acting is as good as ever, except… More
  David Cronenberg's historical biopic is about as interesting as it is disturbing. Both aspects are usually rife throughout a Cronenberg film. But many of his techniques are still missing, like the gore. But adaptability never hurt anyone. The acting is as good as ever, except Knightley's character evokes no sympathy whatsoever, mostly because she is extremely annoying. Despite this lack of pathos, the story and dialogue between the worlds' greatest psychoanalysts is insanely intriguing.

• Mark H

  
  Despite the underlying topic of sexuality, the undertaking is surprisingly retrained for a film by David Cronenberg. Low key account is straightforward and quiet. That's surprising in a drama where unconventional sexual impulses and sadomasochistic tendencies essentially form the… More
  Despite the underlying topic of sexuality, the undertaking is surprisingly retrained for a film by David Cronenberg. Low key account is straightforward and quiet. That's surprising in a drama where unconventional sexual impulses and sadomasochistic tendencies essentially form the basis of the story. I struggled to maintain interest at times. It's a movie where the very discussion of ideas is supposed to be more shocking rather than the actual depiction of anything scandalous. Talky cerebral approach is admirable for its sophistication. I give the film credit for subtlety and precision, but it's also kind of routine. See it for Keira Knightly. If not for her presence, the whole affair would have been rather forgettable.

• Michael S

  
  A strong drama from Cronenberg. As a narrative its not a perfect endeavor, but it succeeds in capturing it's period perfectly and feature a pair of terrific performances. People say Knightley was over the top; I thought it was possibly the best bit of acting of her career..

• Lewis C

  
  A genuine "psychological drama" about Karl Jeung (Michael Fassbender) and his transformative relationships with a patient (Keira Knightley) and his mentor, Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). A Dangerous Method is an interesting movie (which is not at all dry as the subject… More
  A genuine "psychological drama" about Karl Jeung (Michael Fassbender) and his transformative relationships with a patient (Keira Knightley) and his mentor, Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). A Dangerous Method is an interesting movie (which is not at all dry as the subject matter might initially indicate to some) with an excellent cast, but unfortunately it fizzles a bit at the end with a less than compelling final act.

• Melvin W

  
  Sigmund Freud: Experiences like this, however painful, are necessary and inevitable; without them, how can we know life?  "Based on the true story of Jung, Freud, and the patient who came between them." A Dangerous Method had some interesting material, but I was never… More
  Sigmund Freud: Experiences like this, however painful, are necessary and inevitable; without them, how can we know life?  "Based on the true story of Jung, Freud, and the patient who came between them." A Dangerous Method had some interesting material, but I was never really absorbed into the movie like I should have been. In fact, I don't think I really even liked it at all. My rating comes purely because of the great performances from Knightley, Fassbender, and Mortenson. Also the film is just really well made, technically speaking. It looks good as a period piece and all the sets are well done. Still, underwhelmed is the perfect word for how I feel about A Dangerous Method.  This was unlike any Cronenberg film I have seen. Most of the movies I have seen from him had something to do with either the horror or sci-fi genres and many times both. This one is far, far away, story wise, from the films that started got him his start. So while this didn't really have anything in common with the other movies I've seen from him, I still managed to feel the same way I did after a great majority of his films. Most of the time I'm at least a little disappointed, with the one notable exception begin Videodrome. Now to be fair, I haven't seen some of his most praised films like Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, or Scanners; but the ones I have seen haven't really impressed me.  Cronenberg obviously has a large amount of talent as a director. He always picks extremely interesting projects, and he always makes them in a very professional way. I'm just waiting to see one of his movies that will really blow me away, and A Dangerous Method unfortunately wasn't that. Still a good effort from Cronenberg and everyone involved though.

• Jeff "

  
  David Croneberg's A Dangerous Method takes a look at the birth of psychoanalysis. A Dangerous Method is an engaging period drama with a terrific cast. Every actor here is perfect for the parts they play. Keira Knightley gives one of the most eccentric and unsettling performances… More
  David Croneberg's A Dangerous Method takes a look at the birth of psychoanalysis. A Dangerous Method is an engaging period drama with a terrific cast. Every actor here is perfect for the parts they play. Keira Knightley gives one of the most eccentric and unsettling performances of her career. Michael Fassbender as usual delivers a great performance. A Dangerous Method is a great period piece that recounts the birth of psychoanalysis. Cronenberg has made a career out of the body horror genre, but this is a very different departure for Cronenberg. I very much enjoyed the film, and though the story was suffering a bit, the acting is what made this film watchable. Brilliantly acted and directed, A Dangerous Method is a film that recount an important event in the field of psychology. The film has some effective dramatic moments that make this film stand out. The performances are a key reason to why this film is so good. Add to that a very good story and you have a memorable film worth watching. I thought that this film was fairly underrated and thought it deserved a lot more acclaim. This is one of David Cronenberg's best films since eXistenZ. If you're a fan of Croneberg's work, then check out A Dangerous Method. Of all the films that David Cronenberg has made, this is one of his more accessible works. Brilliantly acted with an engaging plot, A Dangerous Method is a powerful drama that is a definite must see.

• Film C

  
  I didn't get it, i understood the story and i understood what was going on but the whole movie seemed to serve no importance whatsoever, it just seemed like a pointless movie! I can't fault the acting though! The acting was superb, i think Keira Knigghtly did a fantastic job… More
  I didn't get it, i understood the story and i understood what was going on but the whole movie seemed to serve no importance whatsoever, it just seemed like a pointless movie! I can't fault the acting though! The acting was superb, i think Keira Knigghtly did a fantastic job and the whole cast were on top form but the storyline itself failed to impress!

• Jacob E

  
  Looking at reviews written by general audiences, it seems I'm one of the few people that truly enjoyed this film. It may be a bit of a bias for director David Cronenberg that made me enjoy it, but I'm certain that Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, and Keira Knightley are… More
  Looking at reviews written by general audiences, it seems I'm one of the few people that truly enjoyed this film. It may be a bit of a bias for director David Cronenberg that made me enjoy it, but I'm certain that Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, and Keira Knightley are the reason I enjoyed it. Each one of them puts out a performance that keeps the film fresh and interesting, in particular, Keira is a standout. Not necessarily because she's the best, but because it's a massive improvement over her past films and definitely challenges her. Also, Viggo is borderline unrecognizable in this film (I honestly forgot towards the end of the film that this was the same man who played Aragorn) and while it's definitely a supporting role, his presence on screen is always appreciated. It's interesting to see Cronenberg do a film that has only 2 gore shots during its runtime. I hope for the best for his next film, "Cosmopolis."

• c0up  

  
  'A Dangerous Method'. Knightely, Mortensen, Fassbender. Psychoanalysis. Sprinkles of lovely humour, strong dialogue and an acting delight! Every scene between Fassbender and Mortensen was of particular joy, and I'd quite happily watch a 13 hour conversation between… More
  'A Dangerous Method'. Knightely, Mortensen, Fassbender. Psychoanalysis. Sprinkles of lovely humour, strong dialogue and an acting delight! Every scene between Fassbender and Mortensen was of particular joy, and I'd quite happily watch a 13 hour conversation between Jung and Freud.

• Nate Z

  
  At first glance, the movie seems like an odd fit for director David Cronenberg, that is until you realize that, as Freud himself might approve, the entire movie is bubbling with sexual repression and kink. The movie showcases the friendship between the two titans of psychoanalysis,… More
  At first glance, the movie seems like an odd fit for director David Cronenberg, that is until you realize that, as Freud himself might approve, the entire movie is bubbling with sexual repression and kink. The movie showcases the friendship between the two titans of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), and the strange patient (Keira Knightley) who brought them together and tore them apart. This is a very intimate chamber drama, confined to lots of men in suits talking in great detail about psychology and philosophy and desire (there are three separate scenes of dream decoding and lots of letter correspondence voice over). Knightley is superb as a hysterical patient torn apart by her socially inappropriate desires. It may be a tic-heavy performance but my God can the woman act. She's like a feral beast at points. The majority of the film follows Jung's affair with Knightley and his friction with the single-minded Freud, who incidentally is never without a cigar clenched between his teeth. Jung wants to expand their field of study to include paranormal activities; Freud wanted to stay within the realms of science to give their movement credibility. Cronenberg's period drama can be a bit too sedate at times given its aberrant sexuality. You don't really empathize with either Freud or Jung, and thus the drama is a robust and intellectually stimulating exercise but only an exercise. For people who do not share an interest in psychoanalysis, they're in for a long slog. A Dangerous Method is a rather short film, only 99 minutes, and would have benefited from being a bit more dangerous with its subdued subject matter. Nate's Grade: B+

• Al S

  
  Director, David Cronenberg crafts his finest film yet, this is his true masterpiece. A film filled with passion, dark desire, emotional depth and throbing with genious. It`s an handsomely crafted and well disciplined film thats thrilling and stimulating. A provocative, compelling,… More
  Director, David Cronenberg crafts his finest film yet, this is his true masterpiece. A film filled with passion, dark desire, emotional depth and throbing with genious. It`s an handsomely crafted and well disciplined film thats thrilling and stimulating. A provocative, compelling, sauve and vaslty intelligent film. Keira Knightly gives a brilliant and unsettling performance, this is the type of performance that can make a career. She`s dynamice and very gripping. Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender are absolutely magnificent, they give daring, haunting and fearless performances. Mortensen is extroadinary, his best performance since Eastern Promises and once again strikes gold with Cronenberg. Fassbender is outstanding, he has truly made his mark in 2011 and brings undeniable star power to his performance. A stunning, enthralling and unforgettable movie that shocks you and opens your eyes. A slickly entertaining, stylish and tremendously captivating piece of work.

• danny d

  
  the dialogue is beyond interesting and the subject matter well explored, but the actual story used to place the philosophical tones on display could have definitely been more interesting. solid acting and very well directed, but missing something to propel it to something memorable.

• Greg S

  
  Carl Jung struggles with his relationship with surrogate father figure Sigmund Freud, and gets drawn into a sexual relationship with a masochistic patient. It's supposed to give us the juicy details of psychoanalysts' sex lives, but the story is surprisingly dry, maybe even… More
  Carl Jung struggles with his relationship with surrogate father figure Sigmund Freud, and gets drawn into a sexual relationship with a masochistic patient. It's supposed to give us the juicy details of psychoanalysts' sex lives, but the story is surprisingly dry, maybe even repressed. It's still worth a watch if you have an interest in the subject matter.

• Bathsheba M

  
  I enjoy movies based on historical moments and this was no exception. It was interesting to understand the reasons for the split between Jung and Freud and why it was important. It still is for a variety of reasons but mostly because the debate about the veracity of belief based… More
  I enjoy movies based on historical moments and this was no exception. It was interesting to understand the reasons for the split between Jung and Freud and why it was important. It still is for a variety of reasons but mostly because the debate about the veracity of belief based knowledge versus reason based knowledge is all the rage and informing our political cacophony. This was obviously a stretch for Keira Knightly and she pulled through admirably and thank you for that, and I loved Veggo's Freud. They even managed to make an exchange of letters an interesting part of the plot, maybe because I was just thinking how no one writes letters anymore and that's a pity. Velum! Even the discussions about psychoanalysis managed to be pretty lively although I am firmly in the school of 'sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.'

• Raymond W

  
  I think the only reason people might really enjoy this movie is if they are really interested in the subject matter. The way it's told is great, but it's not going to be for everybody. Keira Knightley's performance is almost worth the price of admission though as she… More
  I think the only reason people might really enjoy this movie is if they are really interested in the subject matter. The way it's told is great, but it's not going to be for everybody. Keira Knightley's performance is almost worth the price of admission though as she gives a riveting performance that may well be the best she's ever done. Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender also do a great job with their roles, but the pacing of the film is really slow and laid back and may lull some uninterested people to sleep, or to be frustrated that nothing really happens. If you are going to see A Dangerous Method, see it to be intellectually stimulated and to see the fantastic performances, especially by Keira Knightley.

• Markus R

  
  Keira Knightley gives the most off-putting yet polarizing performance of her career, which in turn may be the only reason for anyone to go see "A Dangerous Method". Directed by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, The Fly) and adapted from a play by Christopher… More
  Keira Knightley gives the most off-putting yet polarizing performance of her career, which in turn may be the only reason for anyone to go see "A Dangerous Method". Directed by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, The Fly) and adapted from a play by Christopher Hampton, who himself adapted the story from a novel by John Kerr, this film stars Michael Fassbender (Shame) in his second sexually driven (but much more average) performance of the year as Carl Jung, Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice) as the love interest Sabina Spielrein and Viggo Mortensen (The Road) as the one and only Sigmond Freud. If the names of these characters are not familiar to you already, then I can tell you right now that "A Dangerous Method" is not for you. Synopsis: With WWI on the horizon, "A Dangerous Method" is a period piece pseudo love story centering around two intertwining storylines. The first, is the tale of a patient turned lover, which follows the young and very married psychiatrist Carl Jung (Fassbender) and his reportedly ongoing affair with the apparent lunatic turned doctor Sabina Spielrein (Knightly), and the parallel story dissects the mentor student relationship (which results in a feud) of the seasoned Sigmond Freud and the aforementioned Jung. I do give Cronenberg a ton of credit here, because while this is not the average Cronenberg Venereal horror film (yes, that is a real term), he does a fabulous job of putting his own dark stamp on the period piece genre. He also does quite notable visual work with stage play material, material which could have played itself out to be more tedious and overbearing than it actually was. In fact, the material/script written by playwright Hampton is the one true element which does fail Cronenberg as well as the audience. In a story which starts off so strong, with Jung waxing on about thought provoking dreams he's been having, Freud staring steadfast as he attempts to find sexual connotations to any and all of his patients psychological woes, and Spielrein acting nuts, Cronenberg struggles to keep this film afloat as "A Dangerous Method" reaches closer to its almost shrug inducing climax; and as the subject matter becomes more and more concentrated, gearing itself towards the psychology professors in the audience. The real reason to watch: As I stated before, Knightly not only serves as a scene stealer here, outperforming every actor on screen every time she makes an appearance, but this performance does result in what I will call the greatest performance of her still early career. But just a forewarning: to some Knightly's character will be so out there that it will be hard for them to latch on to her seemingly over-the-top acting. Even for this reviewer, Knightly's performance did come off as very forced right off the bat. But as more of her character is shown to the audience, her performance seems to transform from quite over-exaggerated to extremely engaging. Why she isn't in the discussion for a best actress nomination in at least one of these awards shows is beyond me. Oh, and before I end this paragraph, I must address the other stellar (although sparse) performance from one Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), who plays Otto Gross (another person of note, which nobody outside of the academia of psychoanalysis will be able to place) and is only in this movie for all of five minutes, but within those minutes his presence onscreen seems so necessary then when he does take his leave, the film suddenly takes an abrupt entertainment nosedive, which it never recovers from. Final Thought: Unfortunately "A Dangerous Method" does falter after the first act, petering into a slew of psychobabble which this reviewer found interesting, but those who are not familiar with this subject matter will not. This is an instance where you have a story surrounding some very interesting and historically relevant characters in the history of psychology, but none of whom are done justice with this material. In the end, "A Dangerous Method", while containing some brave and beautiful (at times) direction and Knightly's all too interesting performance, is a movie that most audiences will find themselves needing to do some background character research if they intend on simply getting through the subject matter. Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland Please visit my page on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/x-52464-San-Jose-Indie-Movie-Examiner and leave any comments you have about this or any review. The more hits I get the better. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus

• Carlos M

  
  It is a pity to see this compelling subject told in such a simplistic and burocratic way. The biggest problem here is how the three characters and their motivations are not really well developed, even though the actors do their best. Besides, the constant skips in time contribute to… More
  It is a pity to see this compelling subject told in such a simplistic and burocratic way. The biggest problem here is how the three characters and their motivations are not really well developed, even though the actors do their best. Besides, the constant skips in time contribute to make the story less fluid.

• Tom M

  
  A major disappointment. Everyone in it was forgettable. Thats right, including Kiera Knightley. Her insanity felt incredibly forced and her delivery seemed so generic it didn't move anywhere. The hour and a half story feels like a 3 hour story, with no interest or surprises in… More
  A major disappointment. Everyone in it was forgettable. Thats right, including Kiera Knightley. Her insanity felt incredibly forced and her delivery seemed so generic it didn't move anywhere. The hour and a half story feels like a 3 hour story, with no interest or surprises in the plot at all. Its predictable, and for a story with such taboo in its premise it's a shame it felt almost immature in its storytelling. The cinematography was nice at the beginning, but it turned into the same shot over and over again. It's worth checking out i suppose, but put it toward the middle of your list.

• Alice S

  
  I am not as much an expert of Cronenberg as Flixster friend and reviewer, Joseph Sylvers, but I do like his characterization of the film itself as "talky," "clinical," and "incisive" and the director's oeuvre as "connect[ing] the… More
  I am not as much an expert of Cronenberg as Flixster friend and reviewer, Joseph Sylvers, but I do like his characterization of the film itself as "talky," "clinical," and "incisive" and the director's oeuvre as "connect[ing] the characters' philosophical approaches with their tangled webs of forbidden affairs, intellectual rivalry, master-slave, father-son, master-apprentice dynamics." Keira Knightley is...good. She's quite good when she's crazy: the janky elbows, the choking stutter, and most of all, that tugging spasm of her lower jaw that actually makes extraordinary use of her underbite. Her physical transformation is indeed impressive, but her Russian accent and timbre seem inconsistent and less transformative. Furthermore, after Sabina is more or less cured, the character and perhaps the actress loses much of her actions. For the first part of the film, she is the most interesting character/actor in every frame. For the second part, she fades into normalcy or a mediocrely-feigned version of it.

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