Keira Knightley - ANIMAL MY SOUL

Tag Archive: Keira Knightley

CRONENBERG’S FREUD AND JUNG SHOW

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March 7, 2012

A DANGEROUS METHOD directed by David Cronenberg (Canada, 2011)

"Trust me, I'm a doctor!"

‘Restrained’ and ‘tasteful’ are not adjectives I want to see associated with David Cronenberg.

It’s as incongruous as describing a Terry Gilliam as understated and temperate or David Lynch as cosy and reassuring.

For a film that deals with sexual behaviour and personal liberty you’d expect A Dangerous Method to stir up some healthy controversy. Yet, the normally provocative director seems intent on maintaining an uncharacteristic (and unwelcome) level of respectability.This means that Viggo Mortensen, who plays Sigmund Freud, is not being ironic when he calls it Cronenberg’s Merchant-Ivory film. Continue reading →

Tags: Carl Jung, Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Keira Knightley, madness, Michael Fassbender, Otto Gross, psychotherapy, Sabine Spielrein, Sigmund Freud, spanking, Terry Gilliam, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassell

Atonement – the movie

Filed under: Fiction, Movies, Music — Leave a comment

December 30, 2007

Finally got to see the movie adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel ‘Atonement’ and it really lived up to my high expectations.

With only his second full length feature, English director Joe Wright follows his bold makeover of ‘Pride & Prejudice’ with a film that works on every level.

It’s a book that didn’t wow me but after seeing this movie I think the fault lies with my superficial reading rather than McEwan.

Keira Knightley(Cecilia Tallis) is sexy and sultry – James McAvoy (Robbie Turner) was great in ‘The Last King of Scotland‘ and is equally good here.

The casting of Briony Tallis at ages 13 (Saoirse Ronan) & 18 (Ramola Garai) is perfect and sets up the moving closing cameo from Vanessa Redgrave as an older Briony .

The music by the young Italian composer, Dario Marianelli, creates just the right atmosphere – the piano pieces (and the clacking typewriter effects) reminded me of Max Richter’s sublime ‘The Blue Notebook’.

The screenplay by Christopher Hampton recreates McEwan’s precise use of language but it is the voiceless looks and small gestures Wright captures, particularly in the first part of the movie at the country house, which are really memorable.

This is where cinema works its magic – enabling a small action like the crushing of a flower in the hand to take on a poetic weight.

A marvellous movie.

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