Freud's Last Session (2023)

Director: Matthew Brown
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode, Liv Lisa Fries

Synopsis:
Amid the early days of World War II, Oxford professor and Christian apologist CS Lewis agrees to meet with the famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

Impressions:
I don't know if I would've given this film a shot if it wasn't for Anthony Hopkins playing Freud. The premise had my interest and his part in the film gave me that extra nudge I needed. Now, before I even started watching, I was thinking of many ways this could be done poorly and one way it could be done well, so you can imagine my delight when I found that it did what I was hoping it would do. I was less interested in seeing my own perspective validated as I was hoping for a balanced contest of wits well-informed by the writings and biographies of both Freud and Lewis. The two characters' backgrounds and their respective life journeys, their strengths and their weaknesses all flow together nicely in a spirited back and forth. I particularly liked the sequence where Lewis counter-psychoanalyzes Freud. As you'd expect, Hopkins delivers a fine performance and I also want to credit Matthew Goode for being able to stand toe-to-toe with him as Lewis. This is a sharply written and poignant film that warrants a place in your collection.

Rating:
Own It