This is why it will be a hit
- Cronenberg is on a roll. Leaving surrealism behind he’s ventured onto a path of psychological thriller than no other director (except maybe Fincher and Aronofsky) can compete on. From Crash to EXistenZ to Spider to A History Violence to Eastern Promises, he’s gotten better with each film.
- Mortensen and Cronenberg got it going on. They seem to inspire eachother, and in A Dangerous Method, Viggo really seems to be the driving force, playing the stoic Freud complementing Fassbender’s more dynamic and exuberant Jung.
- Vincent Cassel always pulls these amazing performances out of nowehere, especially when cast as foil.
This is why it could bomb
- Keira ‘Pouty McKinghtley’ Knightley. In a trend of mediocredly talented beautiful young women, Knightley tends to play her characters to the extreme, rarely with success. She’s got a dire habit of doing this shivering in pain/anquish/lust thing that really annoys me (you can see it on four different occasions in the trailer …) and makes her seem overtly dramatic.
- Chris Hampton. Admittedly, he’s very skilled at the dreaded adaptation of surprise hit novels, but works on a ‘hit or miss’ basis. But having seen what he did with Atonement, I wouldn’t be that worried.
- The expectations are high. There’s a lot of Oscar buzz, both for Cronenberg (who gets very little recognition ever) and for the male leads, Mortensen and Fassbender. If they don’t deliver those performances people are expecting it can be a dissapointment on that part. (This is very unlikely to happen considering Mortensen’s dedication and Fassbender’s raw talent.)
Release dates yet to be determined. What do you think? Oscar bait?
Flop. Just have a weird feeling. I hope not, though.
By the way, I hope it’s ok that I titled you Anna from Split Reel when listing all the people that have helped me as a writer :D
Oh noooo.
Wow, that’s awesome Sam!
Gotta go with Hit. Fassbender and Mortensen, there’s no way it could be bad.
It’s probably going to be solid but with that lingering feel that it could have been better if some better actress had played Knightley’s role (just like in Never Let Me Go, and Atonement)
I don’t actually think she’s that bad (compared to some other ‘starlets’) but she gives off this commercial, tryhard wibe..
Nice analysis but I think this movie will be a flop.
I’m surprised that this many get the wibe it’ll stink, hope y’all are wrong : – )
Hmm … I don’t know. Would be nice if it is a “hit” (in a manner of speaking) but it could easily be a flop. Guess I will just have to wait and see.
Cronenberg is pretty dependable – hopefully he’s forced Knightley to pull out a decent performance. Unless she’s put all her effort into that interesting accent…
Also, loving the new design, it looks great!
Haha, yeah the dreaded Russian accent .. brrh gives me a bit of a shiver that.
Thanks Tom!
Hmmm Its a toughie. I want it to be a hit, for many of the reasons you mention above.
But the one reason i WILL NOT see this is the Knightley!! I simply can’t stand her and try and avoid any film she is in.. Its all about her teeth and the fact she never closes her mouth….very annoying!! LOL
Good post Anna
Great write-up.
Seriously, I have no idea whether it’ll be a bomb or a success. However, I feel there are must be some awards nods for Viggo and maybe Fassbender.
Yeah I’m not sure if Hollywwod is yet “ready” to recognise Fassbender, they seem to have a compulsive need to reward those already acclaimed. It’s time for Viggo to get an Oscar nod though!
That’s not Viggo Mortensen…that’s The Most Interesting Man in the World “Stay thirsty my friends”