A Dangerous Method | November 23, 2011 (limited)

Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: Christopher Hampton
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Sarah Gadon

What it’s about: David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Christopher Hampton’s play detailing the deteriorating relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as they contend with a particularly troubled patient. The year is 1904. Carl Jung (Fassbender), a disciple of Sigmund Freud (Mortensen), is using Freudian techniques to treat Russian-Jewish psychiatric patient Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley). But the deeper Jung’s relationship with Spielrein grows, the further the burgeoning psychiatrist and his highly respected mentor drift apart. As Jung struggles to help his patient overcome some pressing paternal issues, disturbed patient Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel) sets out to test the boundaries of the doctor’s professional resolve. Meanwhile, Jung and Freud’s continued sessions with Spielrein lead to a series of profound breakthroughs in the methods that doctors use to treat their patients. — Yahoo! Movies

Why we’re excited: Michael Fassbender’s star is rising and rising, and by all accounts his role in in “A Dangerous Method” is another hit, as he “skilfully conveys inner doubts, his growing mysticism, his lust and his love … without ever showing any overt emotions at all”, according to Britain’s The Independant. Gaining solid reviews for all the lead actors, and focusing on a topic which Hollywood films rarely touch upon, “A Dangerous Method” has won over this fall’s festival season so far, and looks to do so with cinema-goers when it hits theaters in November.

Trailer: