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A DANGEROUS METHODMovie Reviews
Suspense drama about the relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, who both fall under the spell of a beautiful female patient. Cast:Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Gadon, Vincent CasselDirector:David CronenbergRelease Date:November 23, 2011DVD Release:March 13, 2012From:Sony PicturesRating:RLength:1 hr 39 min
A Dangerous Method played in key cities to very good reviews. • Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...a fiercely thoughtful film, a movie of ideas that understands how powerful ideas can be." • And Moira Macdonald wrote in the Seattle Times, "...an elegant, almost stately film, with the emphasis on ideas and discussion rather than dramatic action." More Reviews Below...
A Dangerous Method Positive Reviews (47 Reviews, reviews below)
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "Keira Knightley is a frightening force of nature... Viggo Mortensen dials down his smoldering masculinity here for a performance that's dryly humorous..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 629 words, 11/22/11
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a sturdily constructed triangle of desires.... moves forward with a calm that belies the revolutionary notions of personality construction being discussed..."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 387 words, 12/02/11
Scott Bowles, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has plenty to say about sex, but it lacks much fire for it.... well-acted and tightly written. But given its subject matter, 'Method' could use a dollop of heat."(See all of Scott Bowles's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 385 words, 11/23/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Cronenberg's film is skilled at the way it weaves theory with the inner lives of its characters. We are learning, yet never feel we're being taught."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 793 words, 12/16/11
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "...those in search of a Tolstoy-flavored romantic tragedy will find it here, albeit with a degree of sexual candor that would have given the great author a heart attack."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 870 words, 01/07/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...subtle and intellectually thrilling... so strange and unnerving precisely because the world it depicts is, in the end, for better and for worse, the only one we know."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,288 words, 11/23/11
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an intelligent but curiously staid biopic... Though an understandable approach for a film about psychoanalysis, this doesn't exactly make for stimulating viewing..."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 229 words, 11/23/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "When a director who perennially goes for broke decides to exercise restraint on screen, the results are invariably worth the effort."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 11/23/11
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...presents a vivid portrait of pre-World War I Europe that's at a considerable remove from the types of madness usually seen in Cronenberg's films."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 388 words, 11/23/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "A satisfying drama.... may be the provocative Cronenberg's least-provoking film. But it's also one of his strongest and saddest."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 644 words, 12/16/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Cronenberg's film is skilled at the way it weaves theory with the inner lives of its characters. We are learning, yet never feel we're being taught."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 793 words, 12/16/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...viscerally cerebral... at once a lucid movie of ideas, a compelling narrative, and a splendidly acted love story..."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 775 words, 11/23/11
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a series of glimpses of two 20th-century intellectual titans, in friendship and separation, and the story of a remarkable woman who history had swallowed up..."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 779 words, 01/13/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...too on-the-nose dialogue makes for a very static drama; it's as if the filmmaker is much more comfortable dealing with eroticism as subtext than text."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 154 words, 01/12/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a strange beast. It's a beautiful-looking beast, certainly.... But it also feels distant, and clinical, in ways you wished it did not."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 483 words, 01/06/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "What's surprising here, and pleasantly so, is the restraint shown by Mortensen and Fassbender -- and by Cronenberg.... fascinating."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 12/23/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...you may completely miss the erotic content and simply think what I thought - that somebody, finally, was punishing Knightley for this performance."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 519 words, 12/16/11
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...there's a certain rote quality to the storytelling and perhaps too much dramatic weight placed on the ideas and, thus, talk.... refreshing in many regards..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 12/23/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...takes its time as it circles an opening to unexplored depths. To reward our patience, Cronenberg gives us some honey-hued eye candy and rich dialogue..."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 325 words, 01/20/12
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: EXCELLENT(cg) "Cronenberg again dabbles in kinky behavior, but here it doesn't seem as forced as the automobile erotica of 'Crash,' or the gynecological horrors of 'Dead Ringers.' "(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 403 words, 01/26/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The true story is extraordinary; the film is not... The initial fire fades to a low burn. In truth, 'A Dangerous Method' could use a bit more danger."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 308 words, 01/20/12
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...viscerally cerebral... at once a lucid movie of ideas, a compelling narrative, and a splendidly acted love story..."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 775 words, 11/23/11
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: MODERATE(cg) "...relies far too much on telling us about these characters -- especially Jung's spirituality -- than digging into their psyches..."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 476 words, 09/13/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...has ineffable moments of beauty and emotion, some drawing on Cronenberg's previous themes and images, and all partaking of the chaos of the human soul..."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 146 words, 12/22/11
Keith Phipps, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...keeps a measured, observational distance from its characters... Cronenberg has made a wholly satisfying case study, but not quite enough of a movie."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 563 words, 11/22/11
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: EXCELLENT(cg) "...probably the most fun you'll ever have watching a movie about Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud duking it out -- and nurturing a deep-rooted but fragile friendship..."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 832 words, 11/22/11
Nick Schager, Slant: VERY GOOD(cg) "Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen capture their historic figures' relatable humanity and larger-than-life brilliance with subtlety and grace..."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 688 words, 09/24/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...too on-the-nose dialogue makes for a very static drama; it's as if the filmmaker is much more comfortable dealing with eroticism as subtext than text."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 154 words, 01/12/12
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: EXCELLENT(cg) "...emphasizes melancholy epiphanies over mind-blowing revelations... about the impossibility of truly comprehending the human mind."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 336 words, 12/29/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (6 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...uncommonly intelligent... Mr. Fassbender is entirely persuasive, not to mention extremely attractive, and Mr. Mortensen is intriguingly nuanced."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 121 words, 09/09/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...subtle and intellectually thrilling... so strange and unnerving precisely because the world it depicts is, in the end, for better and for worse, the only one we know."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,288 words, 11/23/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "When a director who perennially goes for broke decides to exercise restraint on screen, the results are invariably worth the effort."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 11/23/11
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: EXCELLENT "...a handsome and stimulating film, noteworthy more for its terrific acting and provocative ideas than for any kind of dark Cronenbergundian genius."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,154 words, 09/09/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...tackles thorny psycho-sexual issues and matters of professional ethics with a frankness that feels entirely contemporary."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,033 words, 09/02/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "When a director who perennially goes for broke decides to exercise restraint on screen, the results are invariably worth the effort."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 11/23/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: EXCELLENT(cg) "...superbly acted, elegantly mounted... still feels like a play and should be enjoyed the most by people who don't know much about the origins of psychoanalysis."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,159 words, 09/03/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...subtle and intellectually thrilling... so strange and unnerving precisely because the world it depicts is, in the end, for better and for worse, the only one we know."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,288 words, 11/23/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...uncommonly intelligent... Mr. Fassbender is entirely persuasive, not to mention extremely attractive, and Mr. Mortensen is intriguingly nuanced."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 121 words, 09/09/11
14.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
A Dangerous Method's reviews are separated by an average 14.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
A Dangerous Method (47 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:A Dangerous Method's reviews cover 82.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 27,849 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 592 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 11.9 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
A Dangerous Method's reviews on average broke 11.9 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is A Dangerous Method's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
A Dangerous Method (47 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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