--- title: "A Dangerous Method: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-dangerous-method/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/a-dangerous-method" critics_score: 66 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # A Dangerous Method (2011): what the critics said Critics' score 66 from 20 reviews: 13 positive, 4 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics come down in favour, thirteen of the twenty, though the warmth is cooler than the count suggests. The praise clusters on the acting: Keira Knightley’s Sabina Spielrein is singled out again and again as bold and physically committed, with several reviews calling it her finest work, while Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender are credited with making Freud and Jung feel like men rather than footnotes. Christopher Hampton’s script is admired for the quality of its talk, and a number of reviews rank the film among Cronenberg’s most mature and disciplined. The reservations cluster around that same talk. The dissenters find the film stiff, stagy and repressed, with the Financial Times likening it to a radio drama with pictures and The Wrap calling it a prestige bore. The spread is wide, from 90 at festival to 30 on release, and the coolest notices are largely British. Even they tend to exempt Knightley, though the Los Angeles Times thinks her miscast early on. ## Sight and Sound — Barbara Wurm Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2011. Festival review. Cronenberg’s masterly period piece uncovers the historical and philosophical backbone of modernity through the triangle of Freud, Jung and Spielrein. It offers a charming feminist touch in portraying Spielrein as the most credible figure in both bed and psychoanalysis. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/newsandviews/festivals/blog/venice-2011-09-03-sexual-healing.php) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2011. Festival review. The critic praises the film as precise, lucid and thrillingly disciplined, highlighting outstanding performances by Knightley, Mortensen and Fassbender in exploring the relationship between Freud and Jung. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/a-dangerous-method-venice-film-230566/) ## Film Comment — Amy Taubin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2011. The critic calls the film a poignant, witty, intellectual adventure movie focused on the early years of psychoanalysis and the relationship between Freud and Jung. She singles out Keira Knightley's bold, risk-taking performance as Sabina Spielrein for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/david-cronenbergs-a-dangerous-method/) ## Little White Lies — DJ Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). A fascinating and fine film that dives into the minutiae of early psychoanalytic inquiry and ranks among Cronenberg’s most mature works. It earns extra marks for Knightley’s career-best performance while exploring sexual dynamics and intellectual transcendence. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/top-ranking/david-cronenberg-ranked) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2011. The film succeeds through smart, satisfying talk and excellent performances by Mortensen and Fassbender, who bring compelling life to Freud and Jung. Knightley is miscast in key early scenes, but the script and direction make it a strong thematic match for Cronenberg. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-nov-23-la-et-dangerous-method-20111123-story.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2011. Festival review. An elegant and absorbing chamber piece driven by thoughtful, stylish performances from Knightley, Fassbender and Mortensen. It is a cool, mannered, perfectly structured film with sublime cinematography, costumes and production design, resolutely about the mind despite its sensual core. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/-a-dangerous-method/5031509.article) ## Slant Magazine — Simon Abrams Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2011. Festival review. The critic highlights Cronenberg's teasing sense of humor and use of loaded gestures and images to heighten the drama, calling it his finest since Spider for its witty exploration of Freud and Jung's philosophical differences. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/new-york-film-festival-2011-a-dangerous-method/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 February 2012. Cronenberg steps back from body horror to deliver an objective, historical drama about the early days of psychoanalysis and the complex relationships between Freud, Jung, and Sabina Spielrein. The film is engrossing and admirably acted, with a piercingly intelligent screenplay that explores the intertwined personal, theoretical, and sexual tensions among the characters. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/feb/12/dangerous-method-david-cronenberg-review) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic’s Pick. 22 November 2011. The film is a subtle and intellectually thrilling true story about the emergence of psychoanalysis and the struggle between unruly desires and efforts to contain them. It highlights the erotic power of ideas and the performances that restore human dimensions to Freud and Jung. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/movies/a-dangerous-method-by-david-cronenberg-review.html) ## The Times — Kate Muir Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 February 2012. The film is a clever period drama about the Freudian triangle, with plenty of fascination in the intellectual debates and relationships. Knightley's gutsy, intense performance as the hysterical yet brilliant Spielrein stands out as possibly her finest, though the spanking scenes may provoke laughter for some viewers. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/a-dangerous-method-cj69kddv8k8) ## Total Film — Kevin Harley Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 January 2012. Cronenberg delivers a well-upholstered chamber drama that teases a droll dissection of mind-body divides from the source play. The talkiness may seem atypical but the elegant surface ripples with characteristic conceits. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/a-dangerous-method-review/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 December 2011. The critic initially found the film wordy but on rewatch appreciates its classical restraint and Freudian humor, contrasting it favorably with more despairing films while noting strong performances and the central themes of sex and repression. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2011/12/movie-reviews-on-a-dangerous-method-the-michael-fassbender-double-feature.html) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 3/5. 21 November 2011. An unusual, bloodless but effective précis of Jung and Freud’s ideas and their evolution, with strong performances from Fassbender, Mortensen and especially Knightley. It struggles with theatrical roots, stuffy historical reconstruction and affected accents. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-dangerous-method) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2011. Cronenberg’s most polished and bourgeois film depicts the split between Freud and Jung through calm discussion of desire and repression, with strong performances from Mortensen and Fassbender. It feels thematically apt but too tame and repressed compared to the director’s earlier visceral works. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/david-cronenberg-mild-canadian-his-weirdly-repressed-freud-movie) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 5 February 2012. The film is a precisely made but buttoned-up and somewhat dull account of the intellectual rivalry between Freud and Jung, with too little of the expected fireworks. Knightley's intense physical performance stands out as both disquieting and brave, though the overall result feels austere and repressed. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dangerous-method-review/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. Cronenberg's film is surprisingly plodding and inert, a talky and earnest biopic that fails to dramatise its profound ideas effectively. Knightley's star turn as the troubled Spielrein is the highlight, showing real acting range and making the film worth seeing despite its flaws. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/a-dangerous-method-review-7446804.html) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 9 February 2012. Cronenberg directs the story of Freud and Jung's rivalry as if he has suppressed his former self, resulting in a stiff, genteel, and well-behaved film that feels like a radio drama with pictures. Little breathes or convinces amid the period trappings and biopic dialogue, though Knightley provides a brief bright spot. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/c8b4b2b4-5308-11e1-950d-00144feabdc0) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 22 November 2011. The critic finds the film a wickedly smart exploration of Freudian concepts and the clash between Jung and Freud, but notes that its heavy use of psychobabble inadvertently cuts off emotional connection to the audience. [Read the review](https://collider.com/a-dangerous-method-movie-review/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Rating 3/5. 6 February 2012. The critic finds the film an intriguing but restrained Cronenberg effort that is more talk than action and ultimately not deeply moving. She praises the strong performances, especially from Mortensen and Fassbender, and the tasteful handling of the material. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a363530/a-dangerous-method-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 22 November 2011. The critic finds the film a stagy and interminably talky prestige bore that fails to generate drama despite its historical subject matter. Technical elements like cinematography and score are singled out as strong points even when the storytelling falls short. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/dangerous-method-promotes-talking-talking-talking-cure-33019/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/a-dangerous-method.md