It’s known that Sigmund Freud, living in London at the end of his life, had a meeting with an Oxford don. Freud’s Last Session imagines that the don was the author C.S. Lewis, and that the two men had a conversation about life, death and whether God exists. Based on a play by Mark St. Germain, the filmmakers find drama in the circumstances surrounding the conversation. It’s Sept. 3, 1939, the day that Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. There are air raid sirens, and an overall feeling of gloom, as Londoners pack the trains and head for the safety of the countryside. Meanwhile, Freud himself (played by Anthony Hopkins) has advanced jaw cancer, so there’s stuff going on throughout Freud’s Last Session, and all of it is interesting…intelligent and, at times, thought-provoking. Much of the pleasure of the film comes from the casting. Matthew Goode as C.S. Lewis is as straightforward as Hopkins is slippery, and the two make a good pair.–Datebook

“Just when you think you know everything Hopkins can do, he digs down and comes up with something new.”–San Francisco Chronicle

“…a stunning performance from Hopkins”–Shakefire