Freud's Last Session
In graduate school, I took a course called History and Theory of Psychology. It was taught by an intelligent, good-humored professor named George Boeree, who wore the exact same black vest every single day. He loved Sigmund Freud. Dr. Boeree often used the term “shit disturber” to describe Freud, claiming that many of the famed psychotherapist’s controversial theories were designed, in part, to get people riled up. Freud’s Last Session captures a bit of that shit disturber, which is fun to see. It’s just too bad that the screenplay didn’t give him more shit to disturb.
The film imagines a meeting between agnostic Freud (Anthony Hopkins) and Christianity-defending author C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode) on the eve of WWII. The latter accepts an invitation to the former’s home, where they have a back-and-forth on the usefulness of religion in life, whether God really exists, and if Jesus Christ truly was the Messiah. Occasionally, they wander outside the house, as when an air raid drill goes off. Then they return to Freud’s study to resume their conversation. His daughter Anna (Liv Lisa Fries) hovers around the edges, prepared to carry on her ailing father’s work and legacy.
This kind of two-character, dialogue-based drama can be extremely effective when the script is right. Dialogue must continually find new layers to explore. Think of how riveting the interactions are between Jesse and Celine as they walk through Vienna in Before Sunrise. Or how captivating the mealtime stories Andre relates to Wallace are in My Dinner with Andre. Or how the long discourses between Willie and Eddie gradually reveal their inner psychologies in Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise.
Freud’s Last Session never achieves that dynamic. Writers Mark St. Germain and Matt Brown (who also directed) introduce multiple promising themes, only to keep them at surface level. Every time a debate between Freud and Lewis really gets going, it’s promptly interrupted by something else – e.g. the unnecessary presence of Anna – then forgotten about. Too much time is additionally spent working in needless references to both men’s best-known work. Oddly, that occurs in the flashing neon sign fashion typically reserved for cameos in superhero movies.
With a sharper script, the film could have been glorious. Anthony Hopkins is superb as Freud, skillfully getting at the joy he takes from being provocative. The actor infuses the historical person he’s playing with a fiery personality and a keen wit. Matthew Goode has the less showy role, but he does a commendable job conveying the seriousness of faith that drives Lewis. For him, belief in God is an emotional pursuit as well as an intellectual one. The stars undeniably bring their A games.
As fine as they are, Freud’s Last Session squanders its potential. With these characters at the center, you understandably want a brilliant meeting of the minds rather than a lightweight “What if?” tale.
out of four
Freud's Last Session is rated PG-13 for thematic material, some bloody/violent images, sexual material, and smoking. The running time is 1 hour and 48 minutes.
