Introducing Freud, Jung and the other woman
“A Dangerous Method” is based on a mind-bending true story that you probably haven’t heard before.
By Katie Griffith | Published: 02/05/12 6:49pm | Updated: 02/05/12 7:05pm | No comments
Set in the early 1900s, “A Dangerous Method” is based on a mind-bending true story that you probably haven’t heard before.
Neurology, dream analysis and psychotherapy are terms that come to mind when recalling the lives and work of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.
Scratch “therapy” out of “psychotherapy,” however, and you are left with Sabina Spielrein, a woman who ignites curiosity in Freud and Jung’s minds. She is possibly the reason for their collaboration, but definitely the reason for their demise.
The story reveals that the process and formation of theories, studies and analyses we hold true today were compromised by one woman.
Who was this woman, and why has she been left unaccountable? “A Dangerous Mind” will no doubt resolve such inquiries. No matter the intensity of your curiosity’s appetite, it will surely be satisfied, but beware: At times it’s hard to stomach the film’s realities.
Keira Knightley does an outstanding job of portraying the disturbed young Russian, accent and all. She makes the manic nature of her character very clear in the first scene as she is being taken away to Burgholzli Mental Hospital. She shrieks, kicks and cackles as she is forcefully restrained and committed, assigned to the expertise of Dr. Carl Jung.
It is under the care of Jung where the “talking cure” — a treatment developed by Freud and adopted by Jung — is executed. It is through this method that Jung discovers Spielrein’s bizarre issues. The self-explanatory mode of therapy relates directly to the title of the movie, which might invoke additional queries. Exactly how hazardous can talking be?
“A Dangerous Method” explores the harsh consequences of exploring all kinds of dangerous methods that lead to risky relationships, unstable theories and perilous states of mind. It is a journey of madness, recovery, deceit, irony, perversion, seduction and brilliance.
Director David Cronenburg’s film has earned Michael Fassbender awards from The National Board of Review and The Los Angeles Film Critics Association for his role as Dr. Carl Jung. Viggo Mortensen has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Dr. Sigmund Freud.
This peek into the personal lives of Freud and Jung (Fassbender) might influence your interpretation of the basis of psychology. Any insight gained from the film will unquestionably force reflection. Parallel to Jung’s belief, you must experience something in order to understand it; and to grow and learn from an experience, you have to face it head on.
Discover the inner turmoil between Freud and Jung, endure their stories’ emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and evaluate each character’s twisted mind in this suspenseful examination of psychoanalysis. What will the diagnosis be, and will they endure it?

