Sigmund Freud, C.S. Lewis Battle over Existence of God in New Movie 'Freud's Last Session'

Despite one’s best intentions of pitching a film about a conversation regarding the philosophical existence of God in 1939, most Hollywood executives would rather hear about the latest superhero battle for the ages.

Movies featuring Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis just doesn't play well at the local cineplex, if they ever did. But that is just what writer/director Matt Brown did. Passionate about the question of God and His existence, Brown wanted to bring this immersive, thought provoking conversation between two of the twentieth century’s greatest minds to people far and wide. It was a daunting task but he succeeded.

Opening in theaters nationwide this Friday, Freud’s Last Session, starring Anthony Hopkins (Freud) and Matthew Goode (Lewis), explores a legendary debate that is rich and vigorous, intimate and monumental. Set in London as World War II commences, the pair meet up in Freud’s home and battle over the existence of God from the perspective of religion versus science.

I recently sat down with Brown and Goode to discuss how a film like this can even get made today, the vital importance of the subject matter in today’s decaying society, and whether Goode was intimidated by multiple Oscar Award winning actor Hopkins, who actually played C.S. Lewis in the 1993 film Shadowlands.

If you were trying to convince a friend or family member to take the time to watch Freud’s Last Session what would you say to encourage them? What would your sales pitch be?.

Matt Brown: That's a very good question. I would say that it is the question of our time, which is religion versus science. And when have you had a film out that actually wants to have the courage to bring this forward and directly have a conversation about it? I think you might find it very interesting. In today's world, it's something that this kind of a debate isn't. People are afraid of it right now. And I think audiences actually want it. I think society doesn't trust audiences to be intelligent enough to be able to actually enjoy it.

Matthew Goode: Come watch a debate between two of the greatest minds of the 20th century where they haven't been coached on the answers and can sit in a room with respect and challenge each other. Obviously, I don't want to give too much away but it will be a joy to see that kind of intellectuality and the compassion that is shown from two vastly polarizing people from different areas for sure. And wouldn’t that be a great thing if what we saw in the movie was what we could have in our own leaders right now? We're in a terrible place, in humanity.

Prior to making this movie, what was your interest in these two gentlemen, Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis?

Matthew Goode: We only had one television in our house, and my father watched a lot of news. So, books were my escapism. And so I read The Chronicles of Narnia cover to cover several times and loved them. And Narnia was my gateway into J.R.R Tolkien. I think we'd all agree  Tolkien is slightly more demanding than those books. And so, I didn't know him per se. He was just the C.S. Lewis that was printed on the books. And then you take a deep dive and you start to discover this fascinating creature of a man who's been through all this trauma as a kid.

His writing is still so beautiful. I had to do all this research but you throw it away and you deal with the script. I'm so pleased that I got to try to figure him out. There's still a recording of his voice from 1939. What made him initially famous in England were his lectures on Christianity on the radio. He's really funny. And that's something I wasn't necessarily expecting. That was a surprise. And it's backed up by his students saying, “I don't want him to be thought of as someone who was very serious and bookish and professorial.” He was those things, but he was also an extremely generous and a man full of great spirit and humor.

Of course this movie is ultimately based on the Armand Nicoli book, The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life.  What was it about this book that inspired you to adapt this to a play and ultimately make this movie?

Matt Brown: Yes, it was a difficult film to get made. Sometimes it takes a village to get something to happen and to get made. That was the case here for sure. It's just the nature of this kind of film right now. We have superhero movie after superhero movie, and like I said before, it's these kinds of movies that maybe got made 20 years ago or more. But there's still a place, a seat at the table that's missing for these kinds of films. And it just takes a lot of patience and perseverance to get them to happen. It requires getting fabulous actors like Matthew (Goode) and Tony (Anthony Hopkins) to be able to help these movies. It takes a lot of passion to make a movie like this, and why make a movie like this? For me, it's not to say that I don't want to make films that I think can be commercial and fun in different ways, but I feel like it's very difficult to make a film. It takes a year of your life and you like to think that you could do something that maybe does a little bit of good at the same time. A film like this has a deeper meaning to it. it just does. It's food for your soul, so to speak. It's a good thing to nourish that idea.

In the movie, we have 85-year-old Anthony Hopkins portraying Sigmund Freud and a much younger actor, Matthew Goode, as C.S. Lewis. How important is it to get the casting just right so that the film’s message would shine like a beacon?

Matt Brown: It's everything. This is an actor's piece, a hundred percent. So, you dream of getting actors like these. Getting Tony Hopkins to do your movie in a role like this is like winning the lottery and then having somebody that can go toe to toe with him is like winning a second lottery. It's a bit of a miracle in and of itself, but the film deserves it. I think it deserved C.S. Lewis and Freud to be represented with such compassion. And with the great talent that both of these actors have … Matthew's ability in this film to withstand the tornado of Anthony Hopkins is tremendous, not just anybody can do that.

In doing some research for this interview, I understand that you, Matthew, were a bit apprehensive about playing opposite Anthony Hopkins in this movie. Could you share what you were feeling as you approached your role?

Matthew Goode: It was quite traumatic for me to be in front of the big man (Hopkins), a hero from my childhood era. But he dispelled all of that immediately. We have to remember we were back working on a stage where he made the speech at the beginning (of his career). He was like, “Hello everyone, I'm Tony.” And he was basically saying I was here 55 years ago making this small film with Peter Boyle and Katherine Hepburn. I'm sure he'll make films until he is 186. But it sort of came full circle in that room for us. It was very moving. It was an incredible set to work on because everyone paid attention to him and myself obviously. And for this project, it was a very skeleton crew. It was almost like working in silence. And it was joy. And Tony's honesty, I was blown away by just how incredibly generous, curious and his willingness to accept me as his equal. 

After audiences have had a chance to see Freud’s Last Session, what would you like to see viewers get out of the movie? What is your greatest hope for the film?

Matt Brown: My greatest hope is that they go out afterwards for a coffee, or they go out to dinner or whatever they do, and they just talk about it. Like you would talk about any other film, but actually would talk about some of the themes that were in the film. The theme of the film is the question of God (and His existence). And to be able to have a conversation about it and maybe think to themselves that they'd like more of that in their lives, in all different aspects of life. And to have more conversation, to not be afraid to speak, and not be afraid to listen. I feel like our society right now needs to put the brakes on stifling voices,  judgment about people and their religions. We all can learn from one another because we're humans. It’s that simple.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR FREUD'S LAST SESSION: