The film A Dangerous Method was originally called The Talking Cure and was adapted from the stage play of the same name by British screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Atonement). Sabina Spielerling (Keira Knightley) was born into a Russian Jewish family. In 1904, she was sent to Zurich to treat hysteria and became one of the psychoanalysis patients of psychiatrist Jung (Michael Fassbender). Jung found that she had masochistic tendencies, was a sex addict, and had a deep sense of self-blame. During the treatment, a secret, irrelevant love occurred between them. But Jung valued his reputation and wanted to hide this relationship, claiming that Sabina was a paranoid. This deceptive behavior also caused Jung to part ways with his mentor, Freud (Viggo Mortensen), the founder of the psychoanalytic school, in terms of ideology.