Film Review: "A Dangerous Method" (**1/2)

"Do you think they know we're on our way, bringing them the plague?"

I doubt a film so irritatively dividing of me has come along thus far this year. That much I can say with confidence about David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method". Across the film's generous runtime, questions of sexuality, psychology (obviously), emotion, compromise, family, and repression are brought up by the script, but oddly enough not by the film itself. By "the film" I speak of Cronenberg, whose work here is more to draw attention to the film than embellish anything about it. A line like the one above should just be one a group that stick out, but it's the only moment in the film in which you wish for something a bit more incendiary than what we received.

"A Dangerous Method" follows Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung, a budding psychologist following in the steps of Sigmund Freud, portrayed here by the more recently unseen Viggo Mortensen. Jung's passion is lit by prominent patient Sabrina Spielrein, with Keira Knightly literally screaming onto the scene. It puts things firmly in her corner as far as where our attention goes. The film very nearly begins with her first meeting with Jung, jutting her jaw out obtrusively as the telltale sign of her own mental instability. It's never stated what her problem is, but it's never really necessary either.

VENICE: "A Dangerous Method" Reactions

And with that yet another film is brought to ground level in terms of my expectations. As it turns out, not even the best directors are free from folly, and David Cronenberg has been somewhat due for a fall. That doesn't at all state my opinion on these reviews right out of the gate, does it? Indeed the Oscar slate has become bent somewhat unpredictably since Venice start, with "The Ides of March" taking a moderate fall, if only a moderate one. "A Dangerous Method" may be in a similar sort of situation, as the first reviews I really see are from Guy Lodge, whose opinion quite often opposes the view of the Academy.

So to do some further digging, as much is often needed, opposition isn't quite so heated, but it does give credence to my earlier theory that this would be a lesser effort of Cronenberg. Those hoping for something kinkier should've dropped those ideas off at the trailer. Much debate is already abounding at Cronenberg's skills at play this time around, some in defense, others in attack. Keira Knightley is getting the lion's share of praise as the more dramatically frantic of the group, with Mortensen right behind her. Oddly enough, I'm hearing a lot more about Vincent Cassel's prowess in a cameo appearance than I am about Michael Fassbender's leading performance. I remain on the outside of casting judgment until I see it, but these reviews certainly have me making heavy considerations.

Todd McCarthy (Hollywood Reporter): "Despite having to cover stages in the trio's relationships spread over many years, Hampton's screenplay utterly coheres and never feels episodic. The dialogue is constantly confronting, articulate and stimulating, the intellectual exchanges piercing at times. Cronenberg's direction is at one with the writer's diamond-hard rigor; cinematographer Peter Suschitzky provides visuals of a pristine purity augmented by the immaculate fin de l'epoch settings, while the editing has a bracing sharpness than can only be compared to Kubrick's."

"A Dangerous Method" UK Trailer

I doubt that anyone is truly as oblivious to David Cronenberg as his awards history might lead one to believe. Films like Spider, A History of Violence, and Eastern Promises have put him on the map over the past decade. This year brings us his latest, A Dangerous Method, based on the true story of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, played by Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen, respectively. The new trailer puts thing further in Jung's corner than Freud's, and it paints things far more operatic than one should expect of Cronenberg. Blame the marketing department, because this is a misleading trailer for a possibly great film.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Supporting Actor

We live in a world of good and bad, and it almost seems as if we spend so much time defining the line between those two that we forget about the line between good and great. That's my biggest problem with this year's Oscar race, and I doubt that I'm alone on this one. I had so much overwhelming trouble compiling a list of last year's best, not only because I hadn't seen everything, but because there were so few truly great films. Not to mention the fact that at the time I was compiling my list, I hadn't made the important revelations that didn't occur until we reached this Oscar race. This Oscar season has really shaped me more critically than any other in recent memory, and that's the biggest complement I can give it.

So, you can stand to reason that all of the performances in the Best Supporting Actor category are good, but can we really say that they're all great? I hardly believe that to be the case, especially since one of my favorite supporting performances of the year wasn't even nominated here, and I'm not speaking of Andrew Garfield's sweet and sympathetic performance in The Social Network. I'm talking about Vincent Cassel's finely cut performance in Black Swan as the intense ballet director and Nina's romantic fancy. Almost every character in the film is two-sided, which offers only the greatest performances.

As for what is nominated, I can't say all are deserving to be here, and the one I find my mind coming back to constantly is Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech. I know he used to be the frontrunner, but he just lacks the extra depth that's needed to go above and beyond. If there's anybody who's going to steal the top prize from the preferred winner, it will be him, but undeservedly so. Similarly, Jeremy Renner did a fantastic job with what he was given in The Town, and he just bordered on being truly great. The role was there, and he was there, but something benign just seems to be holding him back a bit.

So who is nominated here and deserves to be here? For one thing, I still feel Mark Ruffalo's character in The Kids Are All Right was given a melancholic and half-fulfilled ending, which is really perfect for the performance he gave. It's really fascinating in that less-is-more sort of way, and Ruffalo has always excelled in such subtleties. John Hawkes is my #2 pick for this category, and he emphasizes everything I loved about Winter's Bone, with the gruff exterior shrouding a wearied heart underneath. He's sadly not going to win this year, which adds to my hopes that he really pulls out all the stops in Martha Marcy May Marlene.

This category simply belongs to Christian Bale this year, and it's almost an act of apology after the Academy snubbing him all these years. It's unfortunate that he hasn't received a nomination until now, but it's great that he's set to receive his first win this year. He always falls completely into these roles, from every expression and every breathe, and it almost always feels unique to that specific character. This is one of those instances, and when Bale's playing a coked up former-wrestler whose fame is widely debatable, as is the case in The Fighter, you're going to deal with some crazy emotions. Bale matches those perfectly, as he almost always does.

1. Christian Bale (The Fighter)
2. John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
3. Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right)
4. Jeremy Renner (The Town)
5. Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Will & Should Win: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Potential Upset: Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Should Have Been Nominated: Vincent Cassel (Black Swan)

Film Review: Black Swan

Without a doubt, I have anticipated no other film these past three months more than Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. I approached this film as a complete stranger would, having a very vague idea of what I was in for. Aronofsky has done spectacular portraits of tragically fractured characters, such as his work with Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. It seemed like a stretch to suddenly head into the world of ballet, and even more of a stretch to frame it as a psychological thriller. Then the next 100 minutes of my life had spun my head three ways round, constricting my lungs in the process, before finally letting me breathe.

Black Swan is about Nina Sayers, a dedicated dancer in a famous ballet company. Her life is practically dominated by her overbearing mother, who clearly hasn't given her any room to have a life of her own. When she is given the challenging role of the Swan Queen in the company's latest performance of Swan Lake, her mind starts playing terrifying tricks on her in order to cope with the stressful situation. The harsh and seductive ballet instructor Thomas, her previously mentioned chaotic mother, and a free-spirited new dancer in the company who threatens Nina's status in the company make her situation all the more frustrating.

Aronofsky has done some fantastic directorial work in the past, but never as detailed as he has achieved here. In terms of production, there's absolutely no flaw to be had here. Each shot, set, and sound is brimming with intense detail. The result is a film that takes what would be ordinary actions in our daily lives, and makes them feel crude and overly sensual to the fragile and sensitive Nina. The real world that we deal with every day feels so assaulting to her because of how she has been brought up. Her mental deterioration is more to blame on her mother than herself.

I could go on about the several disturbing qualities that Aronofsky and his team has worked to infuse into this film, but the main attraction is Natalie Portman's performance. I've been more than a little hesitant to put her as the frontrunner in the Best Actress race, but only because I loved Annette Bening so much in The Kids Are All Right. That being, Portman has much more screen time to work her magic on the audience. There's not a single scene in this film without Natalie in it, and she embodies all the different kinds of human emotion. Nina's feelings are very close to the surface, and everything that she's feeling is right there on her face.

Portman embodies the spirit of Nina Sayers, immaculate and beautiful outwardly, but with a dark edge being repressed below the surface. As usual, the worst consequences come out of the best intentions. Portman fully deserves to win the Oscar for her work here, because nobody must've trained as extensively as she did. She's obviously not the only performance at work here, with Vincent Cassel being one of the understated charms of this film. His representation of Thomas is not as a prick, but as a skilled director who uses sexual stimuli to get to the core of each character. Mila Kunis continues to leave behind her days on That 70s Show, with this being her most challenging role to date. It's still a rather light and fun role, because that's the perfect contrast to what Nina is.

If my thoughts on the film aren't quite as settled as they should be, it's because a lot of what could be said about the film has already been said. It will literally take your breathe away and withhold it from you for what feels like ages. As Nina takes the plunge into insanity, you will be gasping for control. The highest praise I can give Black Swan is that it registers a response from the audience that no other film has achieved this year.

A

14 Actors Acting

On the ninth day of December, The New York Times gave to us... (Follow the links to see the videos. Some are fantastic. Some are just good. The music is phenomenal.)

Javier Bardem's angry. He's breaking lots of china.
James Franco is awesome. Guess that's because he's sexy.
Natalie Portman's a ho, but she's really sexy.
Chloe Moretz is evil, but her lips are sexy.
Matt Damon is crazy. Too many disappointing movies.
Michael Douglass is contemplating. His hair looks so goofy.
Jennifer Lawrence is screaming. She's also out of focus.
Noomi Rapace is smoking, and she's also singing. She's gonna get lung cancer.
Vincent Cassel is dancing. He's actually pretty fantastic.
Anthony Mackie's running. There's something behind him. He should get off that treadmill.
Robert Duvall is shaving. So long creepy hermit.
Lesley Manville is phoning. Must be a telemarketer.
Tilda Swinton's crying. Not an Oscar this year.
Jesse Eisenberg has a gun! BUM. BUM. BUM.