Freud's Last Session
Short description
Freud's Last Session is set in London on the eve of the Second World War, where Sigmund Freud, near the end of his life, receives a visit from C. S. Lewis, the Oxford scholar who would later become known as the author of the Chronicles of Narnia. The two men debate whether God exists, weighing love, faith and the future of humanity against one another. Around their argument, the film explores Freud's relationship with his daughter Anna, herself a psychoanalyst, and the strain of exile she and her father share after fleeing Vienna. The story moves between past, present and imagined episodes that carry the conversation beyond the walls of Freud's study. It is based on Mark St. Germain's play.
Matt Brown directed, his second feature after The Man Who Knew Infinity in 2016, and wrote the screenplay with St. Germain. Anthony Hopkins plays Freud, Matthew Goode plays Lewis, and Liv Lisa Fries plays Anna Freud, with Jodi Balfour, Jeremy Northam and Stephen Campbell Moore in supporting roles. The film was produced by Alan Greisman, Hannah Leader and Robert Stillman for a reported budget of 10 million dollars.
Released in December 2023, the drama earned about 2 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.1 out of 10 from roughly 7,900 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.6 out of 10 from 192 votes, indicating a modest but not negative response from viewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- 30 years before this project, Anthony Hopkins played C.S. Lewis in Richard Attenborough's biographical drama “Shadowlands” (1993).
- The screenplay is based on a play by Mark St. Germain, which in turn is based on a 2002 book by Armand Nicoli. A documentary film based on the same book was broadcast by the American non-profit broadcasting service “PBS”. The book and documentary compare the life and ideas of Lewis and Freud. Unlike the play and this film, they do not mention a meeting between Lewis and Freud, which never actually happened. The play limits itself to simply their conversation, while the film shows episodes from their personal lives.
- The entire storyline of the lesbian relationship of Freud's daughter Anna, played by Liv Lisa Fries, was cut from the film's release in Russian theaters.
- At the end of the film, a waltz composed by Anthony Hopkins – And the Waltz Goes On – is played by the Strauss Orchestra conducted by conductor and violinist André Rieu. Hopkins wrote this melody back in 1964 but never showed it to anyone. 47 years later, he sent the sheet music to André Rieu. The rest of the world heard the waltz in 2011.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
