A Dangerous Method Review

Knowing absolutely nothing at all about Carl Jung or Sigmund Freud makes A Dangerous Method a completely blank canvas for me. I don’t know of their methods, their practices, their politics or even what they really stood for. All I know is that director David Cronenberg has crafted a repugnant film that paints the two as horrid individuals, and his direction, style, cast and crew stoop to this point of no return in a foolhardy attempt to craft a somewhat period piece style film detailing their methods and lifestyles.

Jung and Freud make for interesting subjects, but to paint them as men who advanced their field, heartthrobs of the time period, as Cronenberg does, is wrong and ill-suited. Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen are, normally, superb leads and make for some greatly interesting roles. With the material on hand to provide performances that bring out the worst in these two individuals, it surprises me just how often the writing tries to make these individuals out as likeable.

Keira Knightley hams it up rather comically as Sabina Spielrein, a role that she doesn’t seem to suit and never gets to grips with. It’s an unconvincing, rather comical performance that breaks what few engaging scenes the film can muster. Understating Spielrein’s actual impact on early psychology alongside showcasing her as nothing more than a disturbed woman who would fall for any man with a moustache. This seems to be a problem for Cronenberg though, with Spider and also A Dangerous Method providing poor, fluffy, and generic representations of mental illness and how they can be solved or the impact they have. Vincent Cassel, a usual charm for the screen, brings nothing of interest or note in his supporting role either. The scenes he shares with Fassbender are bland and uneventful, the performances suffocating under the bland nature of the meandering writing.

As dreary as the performances are, they’re no contest for Cronenberg’s direction, which is bland at the best of times and a poor representation of what he can often offer. Extreme close-up framing with one character in the background seems to be his go-to framing of choice, and the vanity of it wears off almost instantly. A poor handling of the source material leads to an uncomfortable adaptation, bland sets and a dull standing on the whole. It’s a real step down from the violence present in his later films, and it again feels like Cronenberg attempting to reinvent his direction in one way or another. He tries to subvert his own style throughout A Dangerous Method, and I’m puzzled as to why he does this.

Boring at the best of times, loathsome and objectively ridiculous at the worst, A Dangerous Method assembles some talented individuals and does nothing of credible note with them. Clunky, uninspired and a rather pathetic attempt at bringing the debatable methods of Jung and Freud to the table. No moment that feels at all worthwhile, A Dangerous Method is a boring mess of a film. Tonally bland, lacking in competence from everyone involved and a severe letdown.