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Psychoanalysis
A Review: A Dangerous Method
the story of how psychoanalysis came to be
Posted November 23, 2011
If you are a fan of psychology you should see "A Dangerous Method." If you work in the field you don't have a choice, it's a must-see. After all, throughout the history of cinema rarely has a filmmaker as esteemed as David Cronenberg produced a story as central to the field of psychology as the birth of psychoanalysis.
The story orbits around the relationship between two intellectual heavyweights, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud and unfolds in turn-of-the-century Vienna and Zurich up through the eve of World War I. The catalyst is Sabina Spielrein, a hysterical (a diagnosis of the time) patient who is admitted to Jung's clinic and is ultimately saved from madness by the 'talking cure,' otherwise known as psychoanalysis. Over the course of the film Sabina becomes Jung's lover (a fun fact) and, eventually, a colleague. At the same time Freud and Jung act out a complicated Oedipal drama, as the younger analyst ascends from a promising disciple into Freud's heir apparent and finally a dangerous rebel, whose interest in mysticism threatens psychoanalysis' co-existence with the medical model.
The film is unique in that it firmly captures a core idea of clinical psychology: Human beings are capable of profound, gut-wrenching suffering, and in many ways this suffering can not only be inexplicable and bizarre but self-imposed. Not surprisingly, Cronenberg, with his history of bringing complex, primal issues to vivid cinematic life, succeeds in portraying the depths of emotional suffering, and the nuances of one of society's first and most successful forays into psychological treatment.
Case in point:
In the film's early scenes we are abruptly introduced to Sabina, as she is forcefully admitted to Jung's clinic. Eventually Sabina will find inner peace and live out a fulfilling life. In fact, she'll do more than that, and the inspiring arc to her life story is a noteworthy tribute to psychoanalysis' ability to actually solve, not simply discuss, mysteries of the mind. But depicting the therapeutic success of her case is merely what makes the film entertaining. What makes "A Dangerous Method" mesmerizing is its depiction of the suffering that comes before the success.
Sabina will not readily leave your mind. Images of the film's early scenes will likely stick with you days after you've left the theater. Whatever we might have expected from a female aristocrat living in a strict Victorian era flies out the window as Sabina presents in grotesque form. She writhes and howls like an anguished wild animal. Cronenberg provides extended close-ups of her disorder's startling violence, as moments of relative calm dissolve into twisted, sputtering gasps of horror without warning. Her eyes pop out of her head, her jaw spasms in seemingly non-human ways, and her limbs convulse as if her inner demons have a physical hold over her. We are forced to watch hysteria in a prolonged, unblinking manner, and the effect is profound. Given the manner in which her mind tortures her, we might as well be watching her fingernails being ripped off. Despite the familiarly soothing lexicon and attire of a quaint by-gone social order, there is no thick layer of decorum and repression between inner suffering and the surface of things in this film.
The brutality of emotional suffering is the setup. Next, we see therapy in action. Jung uses his 'talking cure' (acting as a blank slate while revisiting traumatic experiences through probing questions that promote self-awareness) to help Sabina learn the genesis of her hysteria. Why is her mind torturing her? We learn that Sabina's father regularly abused her throughout her impressionable, vulnerable childhood. What proves even more disturbing to her, however, was the sexual arousal and gratification that marked her response to the abusive events. Her mind had been desperately running from such painful memories and her hysteria was perceived as the physical manifestation of what happens when a mind tries to out-run itself. On a side note, a sad fact that has long been confirmed by scientific research is that troubling inner sensations (i.e. thoughts, affect, etc.) only grow stronger in response to the instinctive and understandable urge to wipe them away. Jung engages in this primary of therapeutic functions, as he guides Sabina toward conducting an attitudinal about-face so that she can resolutely confront that which she'd been running from.
In any event, watching the 'talking cure' in motion proves a fascinating adventure. And to indulge in another quick tangent, a recent theme to emerge in compelling entertainment has been that of watching characters competently perform unique work. A slew of recent hit television series exemplifies this pattern - think of the cops and hoodlums in "The Wire," the chemist in "Breaking Bad," or the advertisers in "Mad Men."
Indeed, some of the film's strongest scenes depict Jung and Freud finetuning the process of the 'talking cure.' We see Jung conduct free association - the patient is asked to give their initial association to a particular word. Jung practices on his wife. He observes her use of the word 'No' to divorce, he observes her hesitancy in responding to the word 'baby;' and, as a result, he deduces that his wife is trying to hide her fear of being abandoned by him (a gut feeling that proves dead-on in light of Jung's multiple affairs). We see Jung and Freud wrestle with the unconscious - engaging in marathon discussions of dreams, a phenomenon Freud dubbed "the royal road into the unconscious." They decipher symbols, link conscious and unconscious desires and flush out personality styles with dizzying relish, picking apart dream narratives like a predator devouring its prey.
"A Dangerous Method" is not simply the story of some extremely important ideas about the human mind. It is the story of two iconic figures that were insightful enough to observe the unseen, and brave enough to navigate into the unchartered territory of unconscious urges, and clever defenses lurking below psychiatric symptoms. And yet the film limits its potential. It grounds itself in the historic letters that were written between Jung, Freud and Sabina. The problem with the film's admirable loyalty to historical fact is that there is not quite enough of it to make for a full narrative. Thus, instead of enjoying a drama enriched by creative license, we are, at times, relegated to watching underdeveloped characters acting out a history lesson. Even during engrossing moments, such as when Jung assists Sabina in acting out her masochistic fantasies, there is a slight dryness to the drama that stems from a lack of character development and context. In my opinion, "A Dangerous Method" briefly stumbles in the way that many period pieces stumble. I'd have preferred to watch three-dimensional characters engaged in meaningful moments that MIGHT have been true rather than watching semi-obscured characters play out a highlight reel of factually correct life.
But even this fundamental flaw in the production is buffered to a degree by superb acting performances. Keira Knightley, as Sabina, gives a haunting performance and never crosses the line into over-acting. Vincent Cassel, as the self-destructive but brilliant psychiatrist, injects ample amounts of fun and charm into the story. Viggo Mortenson is utterly compelling as Sigmund Freud. He exudes a tasty recipe of warmth, humor, intelligence and vanity, and although he predominately communicates through thoughtful grunts and flickers of his cigar, you can't take your eyes off him. And, finally, the meteoric rise of actor Michael Fassbender continues with his likable and relatable portrait of our protagonist, Carl Jung.
We learn that Jung is a man at odds with himself and the world of psychoanalysis. He gropes after ultimate meanings, and reluctantly falls into self-doubt and regret before ultimately willing himself toward stability and success (becoming one of the most prominent psychological theorists to this day). He is just the guide we need for this meticulously crafted story about inner turmoil and one of the most important advances in its treatment.
