A Dangerous Method: Provocative Performances of Perversion

This chapter examines the implications of performing sexual perversion, focusing on Kevin Bacon's performance of a convicted child molester in Nicole Kassell's The Woodsman (2004) and Keira Knightley's performance of sexual hysteria in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method (2011). Both performances overwhelm their narratives in terms of impact, commanding attention beyond the film diegesis. Bacon and Knightley's performances elicited more attention from reviewers than the films in which they appeared. In this chapter, I explore how these performance not only engage with and challenge preconceived notions and stereotypes, but they also challenge the boundaries and norms of sexual identity and the performing body.