Major Actors: Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightly
Rating: R
Best Audience: Strong sexual language and scenes...only appropriate for adults.
Review:
This movie was incredibly interesting. A case of a disturbed young woman brings Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) together to discuss the role of sexuality in psychoanalysis. Their relationship is complicated in the movie. Freud and Jung seem like friends at first, but it becomes clear their differences in how they practice psychoanalysis quickly prevent them from being friends. The conversation between them turns from a discussion of sexuality in psychoanalysis to the role of what Freud calls "mysticism" in psychoanalysis, including subjects such as religion and telepathy.
However, the person that really stood out in the movie was Keira Knightly, who played Sabina Spielrein. This woman started out as a patient of Jung's with intense bouts of anxiety that came from her father's abuse. However, Jung notes her interest in medicine and enlists her help as a way to give her something to do. Eventually, she goes to medical school and becomes a psychiatrist herself. She does have a illicit affair with Jung, which shapes both of their futures.
Keira Knightly was almost not recognizable as Spielrein. She had the accent of a Russian Jew (which is what Spielrein was) and was able to pull off being severely mentally disturbed in a way that disturbed me. I've never seen her act better in a movie.
If you are interested in the rift between Freud and Jung in psychoanalysis, or if you're interested in history or psychology, you will find this movie fascinating.
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