"A Dangerous Method" is veteran filmmaker David Cronenberg's most deliberate attempt at a prestige film, and therein lies its strengths and limitations.
Canadian Cronenberg first came to fame as a director of such psychologically probing sci-fi pictures as "Scanners" and "Videodrome" in the early 1980's. His work has evolved into more serious fare, with the acclaimed and disturbing "Dead Ringers"(1988) and "Crash"('96), featuring brilliant performances by Jeremy Irons and Holly Hunter, respectively.
Despite Cronenberg's ascending critical profile, it wasn't until "Eastern Promises" in '07 that he was recognized by the Hollywood establishment with an Oscar nomination for Viggo Mortensen's lead performance, itself a career changer for that underrated actor. "A Dangerous Method" is the third consecutive time Cronenberg has cast Mortensen in a leading role, but this time he plays the more subdued Freud to Michael Fassbender's demonstrative Jung.
The film has its considerable merits and pedigree, yet it may just be a bit too retrained for its own good. The script is adapted by Christopher Hampton from his play The Talking Cure and also stars Keira Knightley as a troubled patient and later acclaimed psychotherapist Sabina Spielrein. The set decoration and costume design are both meticulous and evocative, and the cinematography sumptuous. Why then does "Dangerous" leave a cold aftertaste?
It might be that Cronenberg's intention is precisely to maintain a similar psychological distance as his famous subjects, the better to convey a tone suitable to the legendary psychiatrists. The work is a logical progression from his more overtly violent, gory works, yet he seems a bit hemmed in. Never the most sensual of filmmakers, I kept hoping for a bit of heat, particularly the sort of shots of nudity that might fire his imagination like similar shots of blood did in the past. There are indeed the obligatory nude and bonk scenes between Fassbender and Knightley, but Cronenberg seems oddly prim when the lens turns to the male anatomy.
Another consideration is that "Dangerous" is a feature film that nonetheless has only four characters, and at that is somewhat glacially paced. Hampton won an Academy Award for adapting his own play for "Dangerous Liaisons", and is clearly qualified. The difference is that that film had a larger cast and was a more inherently dramatic script. While the film is a showcase for Knightley in particular, Fassbender is impressive and expressive, yet it is Mortensen who steals the film. With his quiet authority, he can't help but captivate with his brooding, fatherly good looks and thoughtful intensity. You can't help but be impressed with Knightley's ability to play an hysterical woman without being irritating, as well as her skill with a Russian accent. Alas, like the film itself, the overall feeling is of being impressed more than convinced.
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