A DANGEROUS METHOD (2011) *** ½

Even when he isn’t working in the horror genre, David Cronenberg’s movies are overtly psychological and sexual.  That makes him an ideal director for this story about Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen).  Jung heals a young patient (Keira Knightley) using Freud’s “Talking Cure” and soon finds himself head over heels in love with her.  Even though he is a married family man, he still feels compelled to continue with his risky, kinky relationship with his patient.  Freud begins to take a personal interest in Jung’s work, although they often find themselves at odds with one another’s ideas.

Cronenberg, for better or worse, has given up mutant flies and rage babies in his work, but it’s fun seeing his themes melding nicely into what is (on the surface, at least) a period drama.  Make no mistake, this is a monster movie.  It’s just that the monster in this one is repression.  Jung holds back his feelings for his patient because it’s not “proper” while she freely gives into any temptation that comes her way.  It’s Jung’s need to repress his emotions that ultimately leads to the crumbling of their relationship.   

The triumvirate of performances anchors the movie, even when the script threatens to go off the tracks (things jump around a lot in the third act).  Fassbender is terrific as Jung.  He does a nice balance of a scholarly doctor and chronic horndog.  His scenes with Knightley bristle with sexual tension and the pair have a lot of chemistry together.  Mortensen is equally great as Freud.  He is smug and self-satisfied whenever Jung toes the line and accepts his theories, but broods with wounded pride and heartless contempt whenever they don’t see eye to eye.  Still, their friendship endures throughout the years (there’s a lot of letter-writing in this movie) and together, they laid the groundwork for psychoanalysts everywhere.