With the noted exception of musicals, movies based on stage plays rarely work. For the first half of its two-hour running time, “Freud’s Last Session” (“Session”) is one the few exceptions to this rule. Then, as they say, it’s all downhill from there.
Based on the play of the same name by Mark St. Germain (itself based on the Armand Nicholi much better-titled book, “The Question of God”), it starts as a chamber piece (a movie that takes place in a single room) that puts two of the 20th century’s most fascinating academics together in a room where they debate the existence of God. That is a terrific premise and, had it remained just that for the duration of the film, it could have flirted with greatness.
Adapted for the screen by Mr. St. Germain and director Matt Brown, “Session” stars Anthony Hopkins as psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and Matthew Goode as writer C.S. Lewis, who meet days after the start of World War II. Freud is an avowed atheist who holds nothing but contempt for organized religion in general, and Christianity in particular.
What If
The most interesting thing about the meeting between Freud and Lewis: It never happened, hence the “revisionist history” tag above. Obviously, Mr. Nicholi, Mr. St. Germain, and Mr. Brown felt this to be a great “what if” premise, and they were right in theory, but not so much in execution.Aggressive to the point of being overbearing and obnoxious, Freud immediately attempts to establish himself as the “alpha” of the two by introducing his dog (whom he considers to be his assistant) to the late-in-arriving Lewis.
Freud tells Lewis if a patient is calm, the dog will lie at Freud’s feet. If a patient is tense, the dog will stand next to Freud. When the barking and retreating dog does neither, Lewis blithely retorts “What shall I make of his running away at the sight of me?” Wishing to get in the last word, Freud replies that “he is also a stickler for punctuality.” Freud belittles and insults his guest by blaming it on the dog.
The browbeating from Freud continues when he asks Lewis, whom he considers to be very intelligent, why would he subscribe to a theory (believing in God) that is a ludicrous dream and an insidious lie?
Even-keeled and emotionally dispassionate for the duration, Lewis asks the frequently agitated, knee-jerk Freud “Why does religion make room for science, but science refuses to make room for religion?” As someone who does not believe that anything “Freudian” resembles science, I felt this statement was particularly thought-provoking.
Not Science
All religion is based on faith, and anything connected to psychiatry is based on theory, and neither is scientifically provable—and that is the crux. In the context of this movie, neither Freud nor Lewis can “win” their respective arguments, and neither is willing to give up any philosophical ground.The Unraveling
With the full introduction of Freud’s daughter Anna (Liv Lisa Fries) and Dr. Ernest Jones (Jeremy Northam) into the mix near the halfway point, “Session” unspools like a half-knotted ball of wire. In real life, Jones was first a contemporary and later a rival of Freud, who briefly became infatuated with Anna; something Freud quickly nixed. In “Session,” there is no mention of the “Jones-Freud” feud, only the short-lived romance. Based on what is known of Jones, his portrayal here completely misses the mark.While the portrayal of Anna is more accurate, it feels force-fit. Instead of leaning into Anna’s real-life psychological dependence on her father, the filmmakers choose to inject a marked level of “woke” where it wasn’t needed, cutting the narrative down at its knees. Anna’s romantic entanglement doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in the “Existence of a Superior Being” argument, the reason for the film’s existence.
That the studio chose to preview the film (relatively) long after the Top 10 deadline of most critics’ groups comes due speaks volumes. Delaying screenings of an art-house think-piece starring a two-time Oscar winner (Mr. Hopkins) in this manner tells me Sony (rightfully) knew it wouldn’t be well-received by the press as a whole.
