After his original choice Christoph Waltz (who is in high demand thanks to his Oscar-winning turn in Inglorious Basterds) dropped out to co-star with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson in circus flick Water for Elephants mastermind director David Cronenberg (pictured above) has persuaded his old pal and frequent leading man Viggo Mortensen to play Sigmund Freud in his biopic The Talking Cure. Joining Mortensen on Freud’s couch are previously announced Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley.
Adapted from Christopher Hampton’s play of the same name, The Talking Cure focuses on the relationships between celebrated psychoanalysts and rivals Freud and Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sabina Spielrein (Knightley), a disturbed Russian girl brought in by her father to see Jung, who subsequently develops personal and intimate relationships with both men.
With filming tentatively scheduled to commence in May (after Knightley finishes her West End theatre run), I simply cannot wait for this film to be released. With its immensely talented and popular cast, brilliant director, dramatic subject matter and it’s “biopic factor”, it wouldn’t surprise me if The Talking Cure becomes a major contender in next year’s awards season. Expect it to be a dark, psychological, Hitchcock-esque mind bender.
