Freud's Last Session is a 2023 drama film starring Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode, Liv Lisa Fries, Jodi Balfour, Jeremy Northam, and Orla Brady. It is based on the stage play of the same name by Mark St. Germain, which itself is based upon the book The Question of God, by Armand Nicholi. The film was directed by Matthew Brown and written by St. Germain.
| Freud's Last Session | |
|---|---|
 US release poster | |
| Directed by | Matthew Brown |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Freud's Last Session by Mark St. Germain |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ben Smithard |
| Edited by | Paul Tothill |
| Music by | Coby Brown |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 122 minutes[2] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.7 million[3][4] |
Freud's Last Session premiered at the 2023 AFI Fest on October 27, 2023. Sony Pictures Classics released the film in the United States on 22 December 2023 to mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
editA fictional meeting occurs between C. S. Lewis, nicknamed "Jack", and Sigmund Freud, two days after the start of World War II. They debate the existence of God, as Freud greatly resents Lewis's recent rejection of his own strain of atheism in favour of Christianity, and many other subjects. The two men discuss issues such as Lewis's post-traumatic stress disorder as a World War I combat veteran, J. R. R. Tolkien and the Inklings, and the nature of Freud's and Lewis's relationships with other people, such as Freud's daughter Anna, who is codependent upon her father. However, she eventually introduces her lesbian lover, Dorothy Burlingham, to him.
At its close, the film records that Freud died by suicide several weeks later due to the intense pain from his oral cancer; Lewis became a famous author of Christian literature, and the children he took in as evacuees during the war inspired his Narnia series; Anna and Dorothy lived together for decades, and Anna became known as the founder of child psychology. The film notes that Freud met with an unidentified Oxford don in the last days of his life, who could possibly have been Lewis.[5]
Cast
edit- Anthony Hopkins as Sigmund Freud
- Matthew Goode as C. S. Lewis
- Liv Lisa Fries as Anna Freud
- Jodi Balfour as Dorothy Burlingham
- Jeremy Northam as Ernest Jones
- Orla Brady as Janie Moore
Production
editWestEnd Films and CAA Media Finance took the project for sales to the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022 with Anthony Hopkins cast, and Matthew Brown on board as director for the St. Germain adaptation.[6] The film is produced by Alan Greisman, Rick Nicita, Meg Thomson and Hannah Leader, with production beginning in the U.K. in late January 2023.[7] However, for financial reasons Freud’s Hampstead house and famous psychoanalyst couch were recreated in Dublin at the Ardmore Studios.[8] A selection of props from the film (particularly the replica couch and garden tent chair) have since May 2023 been housed at the Freud Museum London. Co-produced by Aoife O’Sullivan and Tristan Orpen Lynch of Subotica Operations, the film received UK Global Screen Fund International Co-production funding.[9][10] An image from principal photography was released in April 2023 with the film entering the final stages of filming in Ireland.[11]
Release
editFreud's Last Session premiered at the 2023 AFI Fest on October 27, 2023.[12] That same month, Sony Pictures Classics purchased the distribution rights for North America, Middle East, India, Eastern Europe (excluding Russia), and Turkey.[13] It had a limited release in the United States on 22 December 2023 and in United Kingdom on 14 June 2024.[4]
Reception
editBox office
editFreud's Last Session grossed $906,283 in the United States and Canada and $1.8 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $2.7 million.[3][4]
Critical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 122 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode are a tremendously talented pair, but Freud's Last Session is too scattered and thinly written to take full advantage of their efforts."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[15]
References
edit- ^ "All Future Releases". Film Distributors' Association. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Debruge, Peter (28 October 2023). "Freud's Last Session Review: Anthony Hopkins Slips Easily Into Sigmund's Skin in Talky Two-Hander". Variety. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Freud's Last Session". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Freud's Last Session (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (2 November 2022). "'Freud's Last Session' Starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode Lands at Sony Pictures Classics". The Wrap. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (21 May 2022). "Cannes: Anthony Hopkins to Play Sigmund Freud in 'Freud's Last Session'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (2 November 2022). "AFM: Sony Pictures Classics Buys 'Freud's Last Session' Starring Anthony Hopkins as Famed Neurologist". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Alberge, Dalya (13 February 2023). "Freudian trip: psychoanalyst's London home recreated in Dublin for major film". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Considine, Pippa (21 November 2022). "BFI UK Global Screen Fund: £2.2m to 14 co-pros". televisual.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Daly, Lindy (12 March 2023). "Irish film industry facing plot twist after Oscars success as streamers withdraw". The Times. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (11 April 2023). "First Image Of Anthony Hopkins & Matthew Goode In 'Freud's Last Session' As Legendary Psychoanalyst & C.S. Lewis". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ Hazelton, John. "AFI Fest line-up includes world premiere of Freud's Last Session". Screen Daily. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (5 October 2023). "Sony Pictures Classics Dates Freud's Last Session Starring Anthony Hopkins & Matthew Goode – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "Freud's Last Session". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Freud's Last Session". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
