Shame and A Dangerous Method

It turned out to be a Michael Fassbender week at the movies with him starring in the lead of both "Shame" and "A Dangerous Method."  Not since Roman Polanski's "Bitter Moon" have I felt so embarrassed or intrigued while watching a film.  

"Shame," this aptly titled film, was difficult to watch (most of the time); however, I was not disappointed.  Brilliantly depicted by Michael Fassbender, Brandon Sullivan is a sex addict with oodles of issues, including a sister, Sissy, played by the wonderful Cary Mulligan who thrusts herself into his very regimented lifestyle of work, prosititution, internet porn, and masturbation.  Sullivan is a complex character, fractually part predator, child, and victim.  Fassbender is as mesmerizing to the voyeur as is his character.  Like a tiger staring down his prey, he lures women into his trap.  Even though he pounces on them before they realize why they are there, they are completely willing to be his meal.

Brandon and Sissy are both seductive and broken individuals, so different from one another and yet as the film moves on, so similar. We, as an audience, are never privy to their past which alludes to one that is tragically dark, sad, and perhaps even explicit--one that he can't come to terms with and that she can't escape from.  As Sissy says, "I'm not playing the victim.  If I left, I would never hear from you again.  Don't you think that's sad?  Don't you think that's sad?  You're my brother."

I found that I was left with many questions at the end which, like many movies of this caliber, is why I enjoyed it so much.  Most intriguing to me is that a film so raw and at times so raunchy is really a film of love and compassion no matter how one chooses to demonstrate it....much like life.

Second on the menu is the film "A Dangerous Method" directed by David Cronenberg, known for his films "Crash" and "Naked Lunch."  This film stars Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightly, and Viggo Mortensen.   

This, too, is a film about sex.  It was interesting to see these two films within a couple days of each other.  How does a studio hype a movie about sexual perversion in the early 20th century?!  Should they describe it or sell it as a costume drama?  Should they mention that it is an analytical film on the birth of psycho-analysis, oh, and should they mention there is a love affair?  I had you at psycho-analysis, didn't I? 

At times extremely intense, this film intriguingly and emotionally allows us the insight to the discussions, beliefs, and the circumstances that caused the split between Carl Jung (Fassbender) and his mentor Sigmund Freud (Mortensen).  Although that may sound like a snore-fest, it was not, I assure you.  Psycho-analysis has never been so sexy.  The two are very convincing as both of the great minds of modern psychiatry and that alone was a joy to watch.  

At the center of their discussion is Sabina Spielrein, played fantastically by Keira Knightly.  Russian-born Sabina is brought to the hospital that Jung oversees.  Hysterical and contorting her body in ways that don't seem humanly possible, she is difficult to watch.  This is intentionally well done.  There to be treated for mental illness and sexual perversion, she and Jung form a strong friendship that then turns into a love affair.  Increasing its interest is the fact that it takes place at the beginning of the 20th century when things such as sex, let alone perversion, are rarely allowed to be discussed.  It is a history of accounts and while entertaining, it is academic as well as enlightening.

I have to make mention of the other lesser known "stars" in this film.  The set design, costume design, and the cinematography are beautifully captured. Vienna looks supremely beautiful as does the countryside outside Zurich.  I thoroughly enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two personalities in both their homes, offices, and beliefs.  While Jung's "New Age" hospital is almost depicted as heaven filled with beautiful bright light and lovely gardens, there is a kind of menacing and medicinal stench lurking around in locked quarters.  In opposition, there are Freud's dreamlike caves of academia...dark and rich...filled fantastically with multitudes of bottles, spilling bookshelves, and artifacts.  The lighting is particularly amazing as it captures the contrast of the darkness of Freud's tobacco-colored world with the white milky nature of the smoke from his always-present cigar.

Whether it's the shame of today or the shame of yesterday, both of these films beautifully translate and capture what it is like to be human in a difficult world.  They both remind us we are all just animals filled with love, passion, anger, lust, and multitudes of other flaws... that no matter how hard we try to fix or change them, we cannot escape who we truly are.