David Cronenberg’s Underrated Psychological Gem Needs Rediscovery

This Cronenberg’s gem is based on the stage play The Talking Cure, which was based on the 1993 non-fiction book A Most Dangerous Method by John Kerr.

I don’t have a degree in psychology, but it didn’t stop me from getting to the core of the film as it let me explore the darkest corner of the human mind.

Instead of body horror, I got something of a psychological horror sprawled with drama so intense that it hangs in the air. The film starts in 1904 and shows the arrival of Sabina Spielrien, a woman suffering from hysteria to a psychiatric hospital in Zurich where her doctor will be Carl Jung

To understand it better, Carl Jung is a promising young doctor and Sigmund Freud, already a renowned psychoanalyst takes Jung under his wing. They exchange letters, and talk on the phone, talking about groundbreaking theories about the unconscious mind.

These conversations are rich insights into the human mind from respected thinkers and were anything but dull to me, though these parts of the film can feel slow at times. However, it is Sabina who shatters their world with her own beliefs and understanding of the mind. This will force Jung to utter a sentence that will resonate with you long after the film ends. 

We all know the stories that your dreams might have a deeper meaning, and Jung used dreams as part of his approach to psychoanalysis. Through his assessment, Jung learns that Sabina Spielrein’s condition was triggered by her childhood trauma. 

Sabina herself is interested in psychoanalysis and she becomes Jung’s assistant. However, Jung’s and Sabina’s relationship becomes more physical than theoretical as A Dangerous Method moves forward. There are sparks to be seen and felt throughout as their kindred spirits connect, transcending doctor-patient ethics. 

I found the forbidden romance that blossoms between them a bit disturbing, but as it blurs the lines between doctor and patient it is obvious it threatens to shatter the foundation of psychoanalysis itself. Nevertheless, Sabina is a profound catalyst between Jung and Freud, pushing their theories and personal lives in unexpected directions.

Michael Fassbender is brilliant as Carl Jung–a psychiatrist on his way to being destroyed by internal conflicts as the infatuation with Sabina Spielrein takes over. On the opposite of the young man is the renowned professor and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, portrayed by Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen is perfect in defending Freud’s theories that sexuality lies at the roots of every neurosis.  

Between the two conflicting characters is Keira Knightly as Sabina Spielrein, a beautiful, disturbing, intelligent woman who fights for her beliefs despite an outcast premise. Many aren’t fond of Knightley’s portrayal, but her intensity as a woman pursuing her own desires is what drives the film forward, making me forget the film’s slower moments.

Academy Award winner screenwriter Christopher Hampton adapted the screenplay for A Dangerous Method. Hampton first had Julia Roberts in mind for Sabina Spielrein, but that version of the film never got made.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2011 and went on to receive mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 79 percent critics’ score. 

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A Dangerous Method is a fictional story about real people that changed the way we think and act. Each of these notable figures is a result of their desires and beliefs. It uses drama in clever ways to hook us and take us to its psychological premise, blurring the lines. It doesn’t have a cult status, which makes it a perfect David Cronenberg psychological gem that deserves rediscovery.