I went to the movies last night and was delighted to see that Freud’s Last Session was playing. I had never heard of it.
The story is a drama between Anthony Hopkin’s character, Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychoanalysis and an atheist), and Matthew Goode’s character, C.S. Lewis (the author of the Narnia and prominent Christian defender).
Anytime there’s an option for a thoughtful drama, I’m in.
The goal of the movie was simple, to pit the intellectual genius of two extremes against each other in a conversation about creationism. While the characters never swim in deep philosophical waters, some interesting psychological ideas are explored ranging from Freud’s castration complex to the effects of PTSD.
As I left the theater, I was pleased to see that it was almost full – something I hadn’t expected for a film debating the existence of God. But these kinds of conversations are needed. It would have been nice to see the characters get into the weeds a little more, but I appreciate that everyone from my kid to my grandparents would get meaning from its message.
Regardless of which argument you take, that God exists or that nothingness is all there is, the film does a fine job of giving equal weight to both sides and lets you decide for yourself in the end.
That’s all we can ask of ourselves – that we tackle these bigger questions in our own, individual way. As the dialogue in the film says, “The highest form of madness is to not consider these questions at all.”
Film Rating – 7/10
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