A Dangerous Method in Venice

http://www.euronews.net/2011/09/03/freud-jung-and-keira-knightley-hit-venice/

Freud, Jung… and Keira Knightley hit Venice

03/09 09:31 CET
Cinema - Italy - Venice film festival
Freud, Jung… and Keira Knightley hit Venice

The birth of psychoanalysis may not be an obvious subject for the big screen.

But the Venice Film Festival gave a rapturous red carpet welcome to the cast of the cerebral costume drama ‘A Dangerous Method’.

It stars Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen and Keira Knightley, playing a troubled, highly intelligent real-life patient of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.

Canadian director David Cronenberg joked about the casting.

“I would like to just say that I think my cast has a great need of psychoanalysis and it was why I cast them, to sort of introduce them gently to the idea that they needed help, a lot of help,” he told a press conference. “And you can see they are much better people now. Before, they were messes. When I found them, they were neurotic, hopeless, hopeless!”

Cronenberg says the film is about an “intellectual menage à trois.”

‘A Dangerous Method’ is one of 22 productions in the main competition at Venice.

http://dearcinema.com/review/venice-2011-a-dangerous-method/2351

Venice 2011: A Dangerous Method
By Cineuropa | Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Canadian director David Cronenberg presented his latest film on September 2, the eagerly-awaited German/Canadian co-production A Dangerous Method at the Venice International Film Festival.

In 1904, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), a young woman suffering from hysteria, becomes the patient of psychoanalyst Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender). Between them develops a physical relationship which Jung decides to keep secret from his confidant and mentor, the famous Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). This initial betrayal is the catalyst for a deep discord between the two scientists. Jung and Freud agree on certain issues, but their diverging views about the future of psychoanalysis and its field of experimentation will force them to pursue their research in opposite directions…

Fans of the Cronenberg of The Fly and his more recent Eastern Promises will perhaps be a little disconcerted by the classicism of A Dangerous Method which, in many respects, recalls Stanley Kubrick’s approach when he made Barry Lyndon. Accurate and well-documented, especially when it comes to the type of machinery used in Jung’s experiments, Cronenberg has set himself a hard task in recounting a love triangle whilst summarising the theories associated with Freud and Jung at the same time. These theories are expounded in the concise dialogues that are never boring thanks to the rich material cleverly laid out on screen, with no “bulimia” or excess of any sort. The major principles are brought together in a few evocative quotations. “There must be more than one single driving force in the universe”, says Jung when challenging Freud’s sole explanation which puts all psychoanalytic disorders down to a sexual root cause. According to the master, “the world is as it is and there’s no use replacing one disillusion with another”. It’s a conservative idea which contradicts the possible futures that Jung promises to his clients in their path towards recovery. Cronenberg has rarely shown so much restraint in his directing. The decision not to give in to sensationalism by acting out the dreams (which are often evoked) is a form of particularly intelligent artistic humility.

While the directing cements the film, the cast brings the finishing touches. Mortensen gives Doctor Freud a patriarchal presence that justifies the title of “fatherly figure” given to him by Jung, played by an elegant Fassbender who guards an inner world where, unlike his mentor, peace doesn’t reign. Vincent Cassel, in perfect English, plays his version of Otto Gross — the disruptive element — with greater freedom than the other actors. The figure of Freud is too well-known by people to allow any freedom of acting and Mortensen adopts every physical feature, every accessory and the foreign accent (the only accent in the film). Jung has a more low-key public image which enables Fassbender to give a more personal performance. But above all it’s Knightley, with her frail physical appearance and tortured grimaces who gives a remarkable performance, full of symbols foreshadowing the images of bodies which will be discovered at the end of the Second World War. Moreover, it’s with this premonition experienced by Jung — one of the principles of discord between the Master and his disciple — that the film closes. This is a way for the director to address the criticism made against Jung during the Nazi regime. As for the psychoanalyst’s role during the Great War, we are none the wiser, because Cronenberg depicts the period from 1904-1934 without once mentioning the conflict.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/viggo-mortensen-appeals-for-more-sigmund-freud-letters-to-be-made-public_1243237

Viggo Mortensen Appeals For More Sigmund Freud Letters To Be Made Public

Actor Viggo Mortensen has appealed to the family of Sigmund Freud's psychiatrist protege Carl Jung to release more letters of correspondence between the pair, because they make "fascinating" reading.

The Lord of the Rings star portrays famed psychoanalyst Freud in new drama A Dangerous Method, opposite Michael Fassbender as Jung, about the two medics' differing opinions about the treatment of a young patient, played by Keira Knightley.

Mortensen studied handwritten notes exchanged by the two doctors to help prepare for the role, but he wishes more personal letters from Jung were made available to the public so historians can better understand the relationship he shared with his mentor.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival on Friday (02Sep11), he said, "The correspondence we have seen between Freud and Jung is so fascinating that it would be thrilling and very informative to have access to all the letters."

The drama premiered at the 68th annual Venice Film Festival on Friday, when director David Cronenberg was joined on the red carpet by the movie's stars Mortensen, Fassbender and Knightley.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1660631.php/NEWS-Stars-tell-of-preparation-for-Cronenberg-s-Freud-film-by-Peter-Mayer

NEWS Stars tell of preparation for Cronenberg's Freud film by Peter Mayer,

Sep 2, 2011, 15:31 GMT

Venice, Italy - The stars of A Dangerous Method, the David Cronenberg film that delves into the often disturbing dynamics that animated the pioneers of psychoanalysis, prepared for their roles in vastly different ways.

British actress Keira Knightley said she read 'a pile of books' including at least one biography of Carl Jung and the dairy entries of her character, Sabina Spielrein, the famed Swiss psychiatrist's patient, and sometime lover.

Viggo Mortensen, who plays the part of Sigmund Freud in the film, revealed he researched his role by reading some of the letters exchanged by his character and Jung - in real life as in the film the two men shifted from mutual admiration to disagreement and rivalry.

As for Michael Fassbender, the German-born Irish actor who plays Jung, well he 'found all I needed to find,' in just one source: a book called Jung for Children.

'It was like a sort of idiot's guide,' to Jung, Fassbender explained.

The stars spoke about their experiences with Cronenberg during a news conference at the Venice Film Festival where A Dangerous Method is running in competition.

The period piece is mostly set on the eve of World War I and deals with the turbulent extra-marital and masochistic liaison which takes place between Jung and Spielrein.

It plays out against the backdrop of Freud's growing intellectual rift with Jung - one symbolized in the film by the Austrian founder of psychoanalysis' refusal to allow his younger acolyte to interpret one of his dreams lest it undermines 'my authority'.

While Freud mostly identified neurotic behaviour in human beings as rooted in sexual repression, Jung, who initially viewed Freud as a mentor, eventually went on to develop his own divergent theories on the so-called unconscious, ones influenced by religion and mythology.

'Given human reality, the script is very accurate,' said Cronenberg, referring to information culled from surviving letters which were exchanged by the characters.

'It was like the internet, before the internet,' he added.

Devoid of extreme scenes of horror - a trademark of Cronenberg films such as The Fly, Dead Ringers and A History of Violence - A Dangerous Method drew applause during a morning press screening in Venice.

The 68-year-old Canadian Cronenberg explained his approach to filmmaking.

'I give the movie what it wants ... I don't 'Cronenbergize'' he said.

Asked about his own views on psychoanalysis, Cronenberg said modern research into the workings of the human brain were showing that Freud was 'right'.

In contrast, 'Jungian analysis went off into a religious direction,' Cronenberg said. The director has in the past described himself as an atheist.

But at one stage, apparently referring to Jung's fascination with seemingly prescient coincidences, Cronenberg joked: 'This is the 68th Venice Film Festival and I'm 68'.

The director also pointed out that George Clooney's The Ides of March had opened the festival earlier this week and that his own birthday fell on the date referenced in that film's title: March 15.

'How weird is that?' Cronenberg said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/30/uk-film-venice-10towatch-idUSLNE77T02Y20110830

Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:51am EDT

(Reuters) - The 2011 Venice film festival opens on Wednesday and ends on September 10. After last year's low-key affair, this year promises A-list stars on the red carpet and several eagerly awaited productions.

Following are some of the films generating early buzz ahead of the festival. Unless otherwise stated, the movies appear in the main competition lineup.

1. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

- Swedish director Tomas Alfredson tackles John Le Carre's 1974 classic Cold War spy thriller, with a stellar cast including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and John Hurt.

British viewers will inevitably compare it to the classic television version featuring Alec Guinness as George Smiley, the espionage veteran brought out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent who has infiltrated British intelligence.

2. Wuthering Heights

- British festival favourite Andrea Arnold gives her take on the Emily Bronte novel, which was famously adapted in 1939 in a version starring Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff.

On the festival's website, the director hints in a statement that this will be a hard-hitting version: "The novel by Emily Brontë is full of violence, death and cruelty. Living with that for the last eighteen months has been hard."

3. The Ides of March

- George Clooney is handed the coveted opening film slot for his movie based on Beau Willimon's play "Farragut North".

The film is set in the near future in the world of American politics during the Democratic primaries for the presidential election.

Ryan Gosling portrays an idealistic young press secretary to governor Mike Morris (Clooney) who is drawn into a dangerous game of deceit and corruption.

4. A Dangerous Method

- David Cronenberg renews his partnership with actor Viggo Mortensen for this "dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery" based on the lives of fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and his mentor Sigmund Freud (Mortensen).

Between them comes the beautiful Sabina Spielrein, played by Keira Knightley, based on the real-life psychoanalyst rumoured to have had an affair with Jung.

5. Killer Joe

- William Friedkin, the American director behind such classics as "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist", is in Venice with "Killer Joe" about a detective, played by Matthew McConaughey, who is also a hit man for hire.

In his director's statement, Friedkin calls it a Cinderella story and, despite its dark themes, "quite humorous."

6. Carnage

- Franco-Polish director Roman Polanski worked on the script of "Carnage" while under house arrest in Switzerland in 2010.

The 78-year-old behind movies "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" was freed after the Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him to the United States, where he was wanted for sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 in Los Angeles.

Unsurprisingly, Polanski is not expected to leave France for Italy to attend the world premiere, although members of his cast including Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster are.

The movie is about two sets of New York parents who meet up after their children are involved in a brawl.

7. Faust

- Russian film maker Alexander Sokurov is a favourite on the European festival circuit for movies like the single-take "Russian Ark" and his "power trilogy" based on the lives of Hitler, Lenin and Hirohito.

In fact, Sokurov has called "Faust" the fourth instalment in the series, adding: "The symbolic image of Faust completes this series of great gamblers who lost the most important wagers of their lives."

8. Tahrir 2011 (out of competition)

- A three-part documentary on the recent revolution in Egypt is likely to generate significant media interest given the relevance of the subject matter to what is happening in north Africa today.

The film is divided into three parts -- The Good, The Bad, The Politician -- all directed by different people.

9. La Desintegration

- Philippe Faucon, a Morocco-born French director, is the latest film maker to tackle the theme of radical Islam.

Set in contemporary Lille, three young Muslims get to know the older Djamel who gradually "indoctrinates" them.

Faucon has criticised cinema's treatment of the subject, and said he believed that society was, at least in part, to blame for extremist religious views and acts.

"In my film, the radical, violent shift also has a metaphorical sense: it is the symptom that reveals a fatal condition in society."

10. W.E.

- Pop superstar Madonna presents her second feature film, loosely based on American divorcee Wallis Simpson whose relationship with King Edward VIII led him to abdicate the throne in 1936.

Madonna's track record on the big screen has been patchy, with her performance as Eva Peron in "Evita" lauded but that in erotic thriller "Body of Evidence" derided.

Her directorial debut, the 2008 comedy drama "Filth and Wisdom", was generally poorly received by critics.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Steve Addison)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/aug/31/dangerous-method-venice-film-festival

A Dangerous Method bookies' favourite to win Venice film festival 2011

David Cronenberg's Keira Knightley-starring thriller tops odds to win Golden Lion at 5/1, while War Horse on track for Oscar

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Catherine Shoard
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 31 August 2011 13.15 BST
Article history

Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen in A Dangerous Method
Tipped for triumph ... David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method (2011). Photograph: Allstar/Lionsgate/Sportsphoto Ltd

A Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg's erotic thriller starring Viggo Mortensen as Freud, Michael Fassbender as Jung and Keira Knightley as the disturbed patient who comes between them, is currently the 5/1 favourite with bookmaker Paddy Power to win this year's Golden Lion award at the Venice film festival.

A Dangerous Method
Production year: 2011
Country: UK
Directors: David Cronenberg
Cast: Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel
More on this film

Opening night gala The Ides of March trails with odds of 6/1, as does Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of John Le Carré's cold war thriller, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Shame, the new film from Steve McQueen, the British artist who won acclaim with his debut movie, Hunger.

Betting has also opened on those films vying for the Oscar for best film next February, with Steven Spielberg's War Horse the 5/2 favourite, ahead of Weinstein Company aquisition The Artist and Clint Eastwood's J Edgar (both at 4/1). Oprah Winfrey is the bookie's 6/1 favourite to host the ceremony.

The odds for this year's Golden Lion award winner at Venice
5/1 A Dangerous Method
6/1 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
6/1 The Ides of March
7/1 Shame
8/1 Faust
10/1 Dark Horse
10/1 Seediq Bale
12/1 Carnage
16/1 Wuthering Heights
18/1 Terraferma
20/1 Texas Killing Fields
20/1 Killer Joe
20/1 Alps
20/1 Life Without Principle
25/1 When the Night
25/1 4:44 Last Day On Earth
25/1 A Simple Life
25/1 The Exchange
33/1 A Burning Hot Summer
33/1 The Last Earthling
33/1 Himizu
33/1 Chicken With Plums

The odds for next year's best picture Oscar winner
5/2 War Horse
4/1 The Artist
4/1 J Edgar
6/1 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
6/1 The Ides of March
10/1 The Descendants
12/1 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
12/1 The Tree of Life
16/1 The Help
16/1 Midnight in Paris
16/1 The Iron Lady
20/1 A Dangerous Method
20/1 My Week With Marilyn
25/1 Moneyball
25/1 Carnage
33/1 We Bought a Zoo
33/1 Like Crazy
33/1 Drive
33/1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
33/1 We Need to Talk About Kevin
33/1 Young Adult
50/1 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
50/1 Contagion

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/08/31/bookies-like-a-dangerous-method-to-win-venices-golden-lion-awards-alley/

Wed, Aug 31 2011
Bookies like “A Dangerous Method” to win Venice’s Golden Lion – AWARDS ALLEY
By: Sean O'Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: Film festivals aren’t sporting events. You can’t bet on Telluride the way you can bet on the Super Bowl or the NBA Championships. But that doesn’t stop bookies from placing odds on films they think are “favorites” to emerge victorious from celebrated festivals, and as Venice prepares to launch, the oddsmakers like David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method.”

Venice officially kicks off its 68tht annual event today with an Opening Night screening of George Clooney’s “The Ides of March.” But the Guardian reports that bookies at Paddy Power in London have named Cronenberg’s film a 5/1 fave to claim the Golden Lion. His period piece stars Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen in a sexually charged study in psychoanalysis.

“Ides” and Tomas Alfredson’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and both 6/1 faves, while Steve McQueen’s “Shame” (also with Fassbender) has 7/1 odds.

The longest longshot, according to the books, is “Chicken With Plums,” which has a 33/1 shot at winning the Gold Lion.

Looking ahead to the Oscars, the books in London like Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” (sight unseen), giving it 5/2 odds of claiming the Best Picture trophy.

Let the games begin!

Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2033524/Kinky-Keiras-whipping-yarn-Her-role-A-Dangerous-Method-lover-aroused-beatings.html

Kinky Keira's whipping yarn: Her role in A Dangerous Method as lover who is aroused by beatings

By Chris Hastings

Last updated at 1:36 AM on 4th September 2011

She made her name playing the archetypal English rose in a string of romcoms and costume dramas.

But now Keira Knightley is set to shock movie fans by playing a sexually masochistic neurotic in a controversial new thriller.

The 26-year-old Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates Of The Caribbean star appears topless in the film A Dangerous Method and in one scene is seen strapped to a bed while being thrashed by her lover.

Knightley’s frank and often harrowing performance in the drama, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, is already generating a considerable buzz for her and co-stars Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen.

One critic has described Knightley’s performance as ‘Oscar bait’ and the film is the bookies’ favourite to take the festival’s prestigious Golden Lion for best film.

A Dangerous Method tells the story of a scandalous affair between Sabina Spielrein, a beautiful but troubled Russian who -suffers from uncontrollable and violent fits, and Carl Jung, the married Swiss psychiatrist, who agrees to treat her.

The film describes itself as a study of ‘sexuality, ambition and deceit’ and its title refers to Jung’s innovative ‘talking cure’, the ¬earliest form of psychoanalysis, in which Jung encourages Sabina to recall her feelings as a child when her father beat her.

In the opening scenes, a barely recognisable Knightley is shown being dragged kicking and screaming to the Austrian hos-pital where Jung – Michael Fassbender –works. She is shown suffering from uncontrollable fits that leave her struggling for speech.

But the pair quickly establish a relationship of trust, and Knightley’s character reveals that the fits are triggered by memories of childhood beatings administered by her father that left her sexually aroused.

The beatings are identified as the cause of her sado-masochistic desires, and in one pivotal scene, Knightley is aroused when Jung innocently beats the dust off her coat with a stick.

When he asks his patient about her earliest memories of the beatings, she tells him: ‘It excited me.’

The highly educated Spielrein dreams of becoming a psycho¬analyst herself and Jung agrees to allow her to assist him in his cases. The pair develop an irresistible passion for each other as their work continues and they become lovers.

In one seduction scene, Knightley’s character tells Jung: ‘If you ever want to take the initiative, I live in that building.’ And she then implores him: ‘I want you to punish me.’ The erotically charged film then charts the couple’s exploration of Knightley’s sadomasochistic fantasies.

The film is set in the years before the First World War when Jung was beginning to make a name for himself as a disciple of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. Historically, Jung was a founding figure in the field of ¬psychoanalysis, while Spielrein was influential on both Jung’s and Freud’s careers. Historians have pointed to a likely romantic ¬relationship between Jung and Spielrein, and the film explores the possible erotic nature of such a relationship.

Ultimately destructive, the affair is used to highlight Freud’s revolutionary theories about sex and the subconscious. Freud, played by Viggo Mortensen, is a pivotal character in the film and his relationship with Jung is destroyed by events. In life, the two men endured a famous professional rift.

Based on Christopher Hampton’s 2003 play The Talking Cure, the film is regarded as one of the prestige projects of the year.

Hampton, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Dangerous Liaisons and Atonement, has written the screenplay and the film is directed by David Cronenberg, who also made The Fly and Dead Ringers.

The film, released next February, is already attracting online comment, with fans describing it as ‘awesome’ and ‘moving’.

Jeremy Thomas, the film’s producer, said: ‘I always knew Keira was a great actress but I didn’t know how great she could be.

‘The film is not salacious and the scenes are totally justifiable.’

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/entertainment/hollywood_mine/?p=577&srvc=blogs&position=recent_bullet

Keira and Cronenberg’s Dangerous Method in Venice

VENICE, Italy – David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method was given its world premiere Friday night at the Venice film festival and the director, his leading lady Keira Knightley, along with his film’s Freud, Viggo Mortensen, and Carl Jung, Michael Fassbender, were cheered at their midday press conference.

In the historically accurate drama set a century ago in Europe, Knightley is Jung’s first patient to have a Freudian “talking cure.” She goes from being crazily demented to becoming a doctor – all true – and Jung’s mistress in an intense and intensely depicted S&M relationship. “That was great fun,” Knightley said. “I’m an actress so I’m obviously crazy anyway, so I just drew on that.”

With this, the upcoming Broadway revival of the 1930s The Children’s Hour and a new film version of Anna Karenina, Knightley continues her reign as Queen of the Costume Drama. “I don’t know why I love them, I think it’s a taste thing,” she said. “I enjoy them, I love history and I love history books. It’s a privilege that it’s part of my job.”

The film has Fassbender’s Jung dclare, “I don’t believe in coincidences,” and today’s Jungian psychiatry makes much of mystical connections or Jungian synchronicity. Cronenberg felt the pull, “This is the 68th Venice film festival and I am 68 and add to that weirdness, the opening film was called Ides of March and that’s my birthday. Just keep that in mind.”

As for his belief in psychoanalysis, “I just think my cast has a great need for psychoanalysis. It’s why I cast them,” the Canadian director said with a straight face. “To introduce them gently to the idea they needed help.”

As Fassbender broke out laughing, Cronenberg added, “You can see they’re much better people now. They were neurotic, hopeless! And now they smile, see Michael smile.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 at 9:37 pm

http://www.laineygossip.com/A_Dangerous_Method_photo_call_in_Venice_02sept11.aspx

Cronenberg, Keira, Cassel, Viggo, and Fassbender

Did you see A History of Violence? How about Eastern Promises?

Good things happen when David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen make movies together. This time it’s A Dangerous Method. The photo call happened in Venice earlier today. Cronenberg was joined by his cast. Because of the time difference, the premiere photos will likely hit the agencies in the next couple of hours. I’ll try to get those up before I sign off for the day.

Let’s get the superficial out of the way first. Keira Knightley is back on the red carpet. This is good for gossip. She’ll be at TIFF too where A Dangerous Method is making its next stop. Cronenberg is always a big deal at TIFF. So if you’re planning your TIFF schedule, you’ll want to put a star next to this one. But you’re barely paying attention right now. Because you’re too busy enjoying Michael Fassbender. Indeed. With short hair like this, he is very, very enjoyable. You know what I can’t wait to enjoy?

Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender. The trailer suggests they get it on, and hard. Cronenberg doesn’t usually hold back on those elements either. Fassbender plays Carl Jung. Keira is his patient Sabina Spielrein. They have an affair. Viggo’s Freud disapproves? It’s the true-ishy story of the relationship and its impact on both Jung and Freud’s teachings. The US trailer for A Dangerous Method has just been released online, set to derivative music, sure, (this kind of soundover is getting overplayed, non) but that doesn’t take away from how desperate I am to see it. Like really, really badly. Like, I’m pretty convinced already that I’ll love this film. I can’t see how it could be otherwise.

Ps. I love Vincent Cassel.