A Dangerous Method

A Dangerous Method is a schizophrenic film that while great in many ways falls flat in others. David Cronenberg who is generally a visionary director doesn't have a whole lot to play with in the movie other than 3 of the best actors in the industry currently. There are no man/fly abominations, head explosions, gangsters, or scenes of evisceration. This is a drama through and through, and it really hinged on the performances that he could get from his actors. The pairing of Fassbender and Mortensen was fucking genius. The only other duo that I have seen on screen with more talent is Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassel. Cronenberg should have gotten him a small role in the movie just for good measure.

Michael Fassbender is quickly becoming Hollywood's go-to actor if they need someone for a strong performance. His presence in movies never feels forced unlike the shit heap known as Sam Worthington, of Avatar fame. Fassbender has the ability to seamlessly fit into any role he is given whether it be playing a young version of Magneto, a sex addict, or a world famous psychiatrist. I really believe that his role in Prometheus is going to take him over the top and catapult him to stardom. Mortensen is the guy you call if you need a complete BOSS on screen at all times. He just commands every scene that he is in and it sometimes works against what a director is trying to do because the viewer is focused on him even if the scene is supposed to focus on someone else. That is what we call magnetism folks, and he's got it. It is kind of strange when someone is solid in every movie they are ever in but sometimes got a bum wrap because they were in shit movie, which is what happened to Mortensen at the beginning of his career.

The one thing that took me out of the movie at times was the performance of Keira Knightly. I'm sure that a lot of people thought it was a wonderful performance and at times it was but at others it was so weird and over the top that it was distracting. She is on screen most of the time either freaking out or acting in some cases like a vindictive twat. It might of had more to do with me not liking the actual character and which in turn made me not like the performance of the other way around, I don't really know. She is normally a great actress and she's in two of my favorite dramas, Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. She just destroyed the movie for me at times.

This is movie I would see if you are in the mood for something slower in pace. The performances for the most part are top notch and it is always good to see a David Cronenberg movie. His movies are always great but are really not for general audiences.