Friday, November 25, 2011

Neurotics

A Dangerous Method (2011) - Cronenberg
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A big disappointment. Based on a play and script by Christopher Hampton, A Dangerous Method feels more like a stuffy stage play than a Cronenberg film. The problem with Hampton's script is that it fixates on the drama of three main characters - Freud, Jung and Sabina Spielrein, there is no room for historical background of the early 20th century, characters fantasies or anything else. It is nice to see Viggo Mortensen stretching his acting ability a bit while buried in suit, pipe, fake nose and dark contacts, stubbornly professing human sexuality as the root of all psychological problems. Michael Fassbender is adequate as young Jung, a family man, thrown into exercising 'talking therapy' on Spielrein and then moving into hanky pankies. Keira Knightley has no range or physique to do a sexually dysfunctional young woman justice (to her credit, she does an amazing human barracuda impression unintentionally).

I wished that at least some of the dream talks among them would materialize on screen, to give some Cronenberg touch- especially Jung's dream of a horse suspended in the air and a heavy log placed in the way and keeps the horse advancing forward and Freud suggests, "the log is, perhaps, your penis?" No luck. Berg keeps everything too classy.

Only interesting part is when Hampton and Berg treating Freud as a neurotic Jew trapped in a society where everyone's poised to tear him down when given a chance. Hence, his unflinching stubbornness in his theories. This is a masterpiece theater with a brief nudity of a skinny flat chested girl. Thumbs down.

High Brow, Low Brow

Die 3 Groschenoper/The Threepenny Opera (1931) - Pabst
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Pabst's interpretation of the famous musical by Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill is a glorious one. Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife), the immaculately dressed underworld crime boss and known womanizer, seduces and marries Polly, the beggar king Peachum's daughter. In order to break off the marriage, Peachum goes to the police chief (and a friend of Mackie), Tiger-Brown, and threatens to unleash his beggars into the street en masse on the coronation day, unless Mackie is behind bars. Upon hearing the news, Mackie leaves his empire to Polly and flees only to go to his whore house and get caught by the police. Polly turns out to be a cunning deal maker and an effective crime boss and everything culminates to the coronation day where the reigning monarchy meets the angry crowd face to face. The famous song Mack the Knife by Ernst Busch (who narrates the film with his songs) bookends the film.

Threepenny Opera is an incredibly sophisticated and biting satire of the capitalist society where criminals and the law go hand in hand and even the beggars are categorized and commodified. There are some very foretelling quotes. As Polly addresses the board of the bank (City Bank it's called!), "One can rob a bank, or one can use a bank to rob others," as she takes over as a chairman. And the film ends with Peachum declaring allegiance to Mackie and Tiger-Brown. When asked "If the poor are so powerful why do they need us?" Peachum replies. "Because they don't know we need them."

The Criterion DVD has a great documentary called Brecht vs Pabst, chronicling the origins of The Threepenny. No film lover should pass this one up.