Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender explore each other's subconscious in Cronenberg's new film.

A Dangerous Method–In any psychology class or discussion, it’s guaranteed that either Carl Jung or Sigmund Freud’s ideas are going to be explored. Their teachings are prominent throughout textbooks and historical literature but the men behind the lessons are now cinematic subjects of David Cronenberg’s newest film. Jung (Michael Fassbender) is given the assignment of Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), a young Russian patient whose past has imbued her with a sense of hysteria and paranoia. As Jung treats her, he gets to know the prominent and popular Freud (Viggo Mortenson, effective in a small role) whose controversial methods and theories differ extensively from Jung’s. Freud favored a more rigid approach to psychoanalysis while Jung believed in potential and possibility. As Cronenberg dives deep into their argumentative relationship, Jung and Sabina embark on a passionate but erotic affair that tests the former’s ideas and the latter’s stability. A Dangerous Method is not unlike the director’s past work in that it explores the limits and abstract notions of what makes us human and who better to cinematize than Jung and Freud, the two minds behind Cronenberg’s existing ideas. The film is beautifully shot and boasts some of the best cinematography of the year, while including two strong performances from Fassbender and Knightley. They make Jung and Sabina’s romance seem startling, sexy, strange, and ultimately, sad. But the screenplay by Christopher Hampton lacks emotion, favoring complex and layered insights that make the film very intellectual. Thus, just like the camera work, everything about A Dangerous Method can be appreciated because it’s externally appealing with its smart dialogue and fascinating concepts, but the film fails to carry any weighty heart or passion. It’s a shame considering the talent involved, but Cronenberg’s film is still an interesting watch for its bold performances and material. B

Here’s the trailer:

 

Done with psychoanalysis, Michael Fassbender moves onto sex addiction...just 'cause.

Shame–Alright, I guess I caught Fassbender’s double bill at the festival, but these films only cement him as a terrific actor starting to grasp talent-appropriate roles (i.e. parts that him and only him can concur). In Steve McQueen’s second film (after the striking Hunger, which is hard to watch but an emblem of fantastic filmmaking), Fassbender plays Brandon, an early 30’s bachelor who has an impressive job, stable income, and a fantastic apartment. However attractive and balanced he may seem on the outside is put into terrible question due to the fact that he’s a sex addict with very little self-control. Brandon’s days and nights are filled with prostitutes and pornography and as he struggles to live a life without any of these vices, his wayward and equally troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) drops in and stays with her brother out of necessity. His sibling relationship may or may not be the one human connection in Brandon’s life that can bring him redemption and some kind of love that allows him to conquer his sexual demons. It’s a very different topic for McQueen to explore (his last film dealt with the limits of the human condition, while this one instead portrays what happens when we suffer from excess), but the director does it with brilliant skill and precision. The cinematography is striking as it symphonically captures Brandon at work in the public sphere while also succumbing to his human yet addictive desires, while the violent editing displays the devastation surrounding the character. Fassbender is outstanding in the lead role–not afraid to be extreme yet very vulnerable, Fassbender turns in a brave performance that sacrifices sympathy for darkness, ambiguity, some disgust, and ultimately empathy. Mulligan is just as great, sharing intense chemistry with Fassbender while also delivering a harrowing turn herself that’s full of angst and desperation. The issue, though, with Shame lies in the screenplay. It does a solid job of dramatizing Brandon’s inner turmoil, but doesn’t mold it into a very smooth narrative as the film feels a bit too much like vignettes of his life strung together. While this is a formidable option for a character-driven film, Shame becomes weak when certain shades of the character that are depicted become slightly boring or redundant. That said, it’s still a fascinating yet disturbing film that deserves to be seen due to McQueen’s distinct touch and Fassbender and Mulligan’s searing performances. B+

Here’s the trailer:

 

Alexander Skarsgard and Kirsten Dunst share a moment that won't last in Lars Von Trier's latest.

Melancholia–With any Lars Von Trier movie, it’s best to start out saying, “Well, where to begin…” It’s no secret that some of his works are more provocations than trying to really convey anything original about humanity (Antichrist, while well-made, was thin on themes that ranged from disturbing to…more disturbing), but he has made some excellent but harsh cinematic statements with Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, and now, Melancholia. Kirsten Dunst, the latest actress to commit to Von Trier’s intense filmmaking experience, stars as Justine, a seemingly happy woman who’s plagued with a stabbing and slow-burning depression that manifests itself in dramatic fashion at her wedding. Her sister, Claire, plays caretaker to her but can’t help feeling frustrated and slightly impatient with her sibling’s condition…until she begins to feel just as hopeless as she and her husband (Kiefer Sutherland, not exactly playing Jack Bauer) learn that a large planet looms close to Earth and may or may not cause an apocalyptic collision. Insane and ludicrous it may sound, but Von Trier’s story is both beautifully original and shockingly relatable as he constructs a tight screenplay that intensely focuses on this dynamic with depression between the two sisters and how unpredictable, insurmountable, and powerful the condition can be. Neither character comes off as anything less than compelling, and this is due to the immensely strong work from Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg. I would have never thought, honestly, that Dunst could conquer a role like this but she brings grit, tears, and emotional malleability to a character so complex that it’s very impressive an actor like her could match Justine’s shades, depth by depth. Gainsbourg is just as terrific as perhaps the more familiar character of a woman who becomes tired of dealing with depression only to start feeling its penetrating impacts; she effortlessly embodies Claire’s alternating frustration and powerlessness. The rest of the cast is solid, ranging from Sutherland’s assuring but short-tempered husband to John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling as the sisters’ bitter and battling divorced parents. Not to mention the film is gorgeously shot and paired with heart-trembling music from Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde”. But perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay to this film is a testament to Von Trier’s capability as a director: it near-flawlessly depicts such an abstract, almost indefinable state of mind and emotion as something both inexplicable and familiar, and bring it to the screen with such aesthetic beauty and cinematic strength. Melancholia might sound like a plain downer just from its name alone, but it’s an audacious exploration of what makes us crack, suffer, and never see the light in things that’s frighteningly and powerfully poignant. A

Here’s the trailer:

 

Another movie about sisters drifting apart? I'm down.

Martha Marcy May Marlene–That’s a tongue-twisting, long title, but it will soon become a household one due to this striking thriller’s dream-like tone and stellar performance from newcomer Elizabeth Olsen. She stars as Martha, a young woman who flees from a cult in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York to escape back into the care of her older sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson). Lucy and her husband, Ted (Hugh Dancy), welcome Martha into their fancy, lakeside house but can’t help but witness her very erratic behavior and speculate as to what specifically caused it. Throughout the film, as Martha struggles to re-assimilate herself into normal society she (and we) get glimpses into her disturbing period of living in a commune with fellow members whose denouncing of selfish material behavior and free love proves to be something more sinister and abusive. The cult’s residual effects on Martha fill her with paranoia and fear that the head of the commune, Patrick (John Hawkes, proving to be the reliable actor for a creepy antagonist for independent films), is after her. Questioning what’s real and what’s fantasy is the central theme of first-time director Sean Durkin’s film and he explores it in a way that’s both refreshingly original and narratively frustrating for the audience, recalling the early work of Terrence Malick (Badlands in particular). The flashbacks are done in an eloquent and smooth way but are confusing (beneficially) for the viewer as they, like Martha, begin to question what’s a memory of hers and what’s an illusion–the film is filled with intrigue but we constantly question whether what we’re watching is real or not, which is an exciting feeling of character-audience alignment from a little thriller like this one. The screenplay’s labyrinth of twists and tricks keeps the other characters and audience on a tight rope of suspense as it dives into Martha’s psyche, an endless cinematic treasure that lures as much as it frightens. It also helps that Olsen’s performance is so fearless and awe-inspiring, giving the film a protagonist who’s faithfully brought to life with skill and passion. Durkins’ feature has everything going for it–grade-A acting, a triple threat of solid cinematography, editing, and music, and a mystic screenplay–which makes it all the more puzzling why Martha, at the end, feels slightly underwhelming. Once the end credits hit after a terrific finale, I couldn’t help but wish the film pushed Martha even further to the edge to explore a much richer trajectory of her anxiety, fear, and shades of insanity. It’s terrific as it is now, but maybe could have been something stronger if a few more turns were made. A-

Here’s the trailer: