I guess having studied a psychology degree it was a no brainer that I’d check out the movie Freud’s Last Session. However, you don’t need a psych degree to admire yet another masterful performance from Anthony Hopkins. A masterclass in acting.
The action takes place in Sigmund Freud’s den, a dark, masculine, booklined room in his house. Outside the world is on edge. Intermittent warning tones send everyone scurrying to bomb shelters. The Second World War is looming.
Inside Freud (Anthony Hopkins) prepares to meet an esteemed Oxford Don, Professor Jack Lewis (Matthew Goode). What follows is a fascinating and at times hilarious debate about God, death and Science versus Religion.
While we don’t really know who he met, three weeks prior to his death, the movie speculates that it was renowned children’s author C.S. Lewis.
Director Matt Brown said,
“Beyond my own intellectual curiosity and inclination towards this piece as the son of a psychiatrist, there is a deep recognition of how incredibly timely and important this film is. We live in an age that is so ideologically polarised, where everyone is stuck in their own tribes, with no real dialogue, and no intellectual curiosity. I want to make a film for all audiences that can be emotional, thought-provoking, and creative. A film that can ask the big questions, while investigating what’s at the heart of all human condition: love, faith, and mortality.”
He has most certainly achieved that. As the audience left I pondered:
- Hopkins is phenomenal, again. A line can be delivered in a myriad of ways and yet Hopkins seems to find his own take and once delivered it seems perfect.
- It’s clear to see that the movie was adapted from a play, a smash hit off-Broadway play.
- You’d hope that whoever it was that Freud met, that the discussion was this rewarding for both men.
- The movie leaves you with so many questions to discuss over coffee or dinner.
For more information go to Luna Cinema.
