Review: Brave Ideas (A Dangerous Method)

With any innovative idea there are vultures surrounding them, these vultures are both advocates and detractors just waiting to pick apart. Success has many fathers, but failure has just one. The "talking cure" that Dr. Freud (Viggo Mortensen) has implemented could either bring psychoanalysis to the mainstream or destroy the reputations of all doctors willing to treat their patients with it.

Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender, in yet another solid performance) likes to fancy himself a practitioner of the talking cure, but a new patient in the form of Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) could reveal him to be a student.

Sabina's psychosis is not a common one: she is excited by humiliation. Underneath all of this dilapidating fear, Jung sees a kindred spirit, a woman with insights of her own. He can find a way to cure her of this "disease", but in doing so he must tread lightly. His resolve is being corrupted by Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel), a man who represses nothing. Sabina has a proposal and Jung may halt the psychoanalytic movement before it even begins.

With Jung's sessions, Sabina blossoms into a analytical mind of her own, and as a lover for Jung. This presents complications when Jung finally meets Freud.

Despite Freud's gossamer-like touch regarding sexuality, he would better serve other interests if he shifted his focus elsewhere, Jung concludes. The cigar-chomping doctor seemingly does not care enough about a patient's problems enough to obtain any actualized solutions. Jung finds this unacceptable. Sexuality does not define any one person's actions consistently, he refuses to believe it. The growing feud between these therapists develops into a life-long one.

David Cronenberg's film relies on its actors to keep the audiences' attention onscreen as A Dangerous Method does not lend itself to cinematography. A majority of the film takes place behind a desk, in armchairs, and at the dinner table. Fortunately, Knightley, Fassbender and Mortensen all give it their all.

Mortensen takes the cigar and ability to throw battery acid onto a fresh-paint veneer like only Freud could. Watching the veteran pick apart the confidence of his peers must be what got Viggo the part. Michael Fassbender—so shortly after Shame—comes to prim and proper so naturally that even the hairs on his mustache stand at attention. Watching him loosen his morality as if it were a tie is a vicarious thrill. His scenes with Knightley revel in all of the kink that fans said that Cronenberg no longer had in him.

What we indulge in may bring us to the brink and A Dangerous Method proposes that in order to live, we may have to give it all up.

***/****

The Best of the Decade

Over the last ten years, the cinema has given us a great deal to be thankful for: a rebirth of the Batman franchise, a series of examinations of what it means to live in this particular decade, and a mass of character studies whether they be animated or popcorn thrillers. As much as I have enjoyed the offerings, a list must be culled together for the end of the year. Except this year is different, this year ten films must be selected from hundreds. Below are some of the best of the aughts. Enjoy! 10) There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus, a scathing look at extremism in America and the evils of greed and profiteering from religion. It also features the best performance of the decade with Daniel Day-Lewis as oil-man Daniel Plainview. 9) Up A beautiful tale that entrances all ages, Up managed to captivate children and tell a tale that adults cherish as well. 8) The Dark Knight Maybe just a comic book film, but it is the best comic book film

Paprika vs. Inception

Months before Inception hit the theaters forums were alive with rumors that Christopher Nolan either accidentally or intentionally stole some details from another film, the Japanese anime Paprika. The biggest point of comparison for some bloggers and forum runners was the fact that both of the films featured a device that allowed a person, or people, to travel into another’s dreams and delve into their subconscious. Minor points of comparison include scenes in Paprika where the character Paprika breaks through a mirrored wall by holding her hand to it, as well as a scene where a police detective falls his way down a hallway. Claims have been made that Inception abounds with imagery similar to or exactly like the anime movie, but with the recent release of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and with Paprika available for several years now, an examination of the two plots can be made more fully. Let us begin with the primary claim— Inception stole the idea of a dream

Armond White's Top Ten Films on Flickchart

Armond White is film criticism’s most famous contrarian. At one moment he writes a review declaring Toy Story 3 to be the most obscene excuse for toy commercials he has ever watched, and then two weeks later types out a glowing review of Resident Evil: Afterlife . He is of split-mind for sure. But what does his Flickchart look like? Read the rest at Flickchart !

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