A Dangerous Method: David Cronenberg

I've always found Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, much more fascinating that Sigmund Freud, founder of the discipline of psychoanalysis. He was more willing to take risks and explore theories that threatened his scientific reputation.  Now I have a film by David Cronenberg that backs up my assumption: A Dangerous Method.  The film starts in Zurich where Sabina Spielrein, a young woman dominated by mental illness, arrives at the Burghölzli, the preeminent psychiatric hospital in the region. She becomes Jung's patient and helps him gather evidence for his theory of psychoanalysis.  Jung's methods work so well that soon Spielrein becomes a distinguished colleague and his part-time lover.  A large portion of the film depicts the relationship between Jung and Freud. At first, they assume a father-son relationship borne of mutual respect and scientific admiration.  But as Spielrein begins to chart her own course of scientific investigation, Jung and Freud's friendship turns sour. Jung feels betrayed when Spielrein works for Freud and suggests that his theories may be better than his own. Freud sees Spielrein as a kind of pawn for keeping control over Jung. Although I suspect that Freud did have genuine feelings of friendship towards Jung, he was incapable of sustaining a relationship that did not have him as the superior, authority figure.  This was an unusual film for Cronenberg. There are a few scenes where Jung and Spielrein's sadomasochistic affair are depicted, but other than that all of the drama comes from dialogue and long takes of eminent scientists sadly brooding in their studies. I say this because I have always considered Cronenberg as a more visual director.  When I heard that he was doing a film about the birth of psychiatry, A Dangerous Method was not what I had in mind. But to punish a film for what it isn't wouldn't be fair or proper.  A Dangerous Method is a well constructed, well acted drama. And yet it leaves me feeling like I have only seen a small part of one of modern science's most fascinating stories.

7/10