David Cronenberg to Helm Film About Freud and Jung

Director David Cronenberg plans to use his next film, A Dangerous Method, to analyze the complex relationship between Sigmund Freud and his protege, Carl Jung. Michael Fassbender has been cast as Jung, and Viggo Mortensen will portray Freud. Keira Knightley is set to play the role of Jung’s Russian lover, Sabina Spielrein.

The script—penned by Christopher Hampton and based on his play The Talking Cure—focuses on a 22-year-old mental patient (Spielrein) who had an affair with the married Jung. The relationship caused Jung and Freud’s personal and professional relationship to suffer, creating a dynamic Cronenberg called “the story of erotic daring between these two good doctors and the woman who both divided and defined them.”

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