Australian distributor Hopscotch Films announced via its Facebook page that the acting trifecta of Keira Knightley, Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender have joined acclaimed director David Cronenberg for the adaptation of Christopher Hampton's play The Talking Cure. The play focuses on famous psychoanalysts and close friends Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung and their relationship with patient Sabina Spielrein. The movie marks the first from Cronenberg since his 2007 project Eastern Promises and the second time Knightley features in a Hampton piece, the first being the Oscar-nominated Atonement.

Find out my thoughts on the news as a film buff and psychology nut after the jump.

This news certainly brings new life to the project, as no new information surfaced in the past two years since Screen Daily first attached Cronenberg to the adaptation. After his brilliantly directed History of Violence and aforementioned Eastern Promises, I'm definitely curious to see Cronenberg's take on the psychologically driven Talking Cure. The director has a unique way of bringing drama and intensity to even the most basic talking heads scene, and for a film based around the concept of "talking out your problems," there is certainly much of that to be had.

As a psych fanatic, I'm very interested in seeing these set of actors take on three of the most famous names in psychoanalysis. Although Waltz doesn't exactly look the part of Freud, his calm demeanor and pipe-smoking habit definitely exudes the aura of Siggy Freud. Already I can imagine him lighting up a smoke and advising Fassbender's Jung in thick Austrian accent. Both actors certainly gained some notice after their performances in this summer's Inglorious Basterds, so their involvement with The Talking Cure should bring some public light to the film.

As for Knightley, many people seem to have their problems with her; however, I greatly appreciated her in the Hampton-scripted Atonement and in the Christmas-themed Love, Actually. She's been in a bit of a old-school period piece kick of late, so this should fit right in for her.

(via The Playlist)