"Dangerous Methods," a film by David Cronenberg, is at heart a boy meets girl flic with a not so dry wit, the Freud/Jung/ian in-jokes not so in as off. The on film relationship between Jung and Sabrina Spielrein (a patient of Jung's in the early days of his career) is an unsubstantiated S&M fantasy compliments of Mr. C. et al. Spurious and superficial, there is no discernible attempt to show how this relationship may have informed Jung's growing ascendancy as one of the world's foremost trailblazers in the fields of psychology and, some might argue, spirituality; or indeed, the connection between the two.
Nor do we really get any insight into the relationship between the two principals, Jung and Freud, the boy 'beats' girl motif the main focus in a forest of plodding narrative and trivial detail. The auters of this piece are obviously not too familiar with their subject, and in their ignorance, do the field of psychology great disservice. Unfortunately, the principal actors too get caught in this pseudo psychological farce, turning in earnest but ultimately superficial performances of what should be fascinating exposes of two brilliant but obviously disturbed minds. Now there's a good title for what this piece could have been.
Those with a vested interest in broadening their knowledge of either Jung or Freud need not bother adding this piece to their portfolios. Dangerous methods indeed, Mr. Cronenberg, and applicable more precisely to the methods used to produce this piece. For those with serious interest in the subject, try Deirdre Bair's, "Jung*:" a captivating and in depth biography navigating the jungles of time and partisan politics with intelligence and impartiality. (*review - www.robertboynton.com/articleDisplay.php?article_id=9).
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