Two-time Oscar winning actor from “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Father,” Anthony Hopkins is set to take on the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud in a new project called, “Freud’s Last Session” which was launched in the Cannes market.
“Freud’s Last Session“ is being directed Matthew Brown (The Man Who Knew Infinity), working from a script by a playwright, Mark St. Germain (The God Committee) and adapted from his play of the same title. The project is being shopped around at the Cannes by WestEnd Films and CAA Media Finance.
Set on the eve of WWII towards the end of Freud’s life, Freud (Hopkins) invite iconic young author C.S. Lewis, the British writer who is best known for “The Chronicles of Narnia book series, into his home in the English capital. Two men engaged in a conversation about numerous profound topics of love, sexuality, and God’s existence an so on, while it’s also exploring Freud’s unique relationship with his lesbian daughter Anna and Lewis’ unconventional romance with his best friend’s mother, the film interweaves past, present and fantasy, bursting from the confines of Freud’s study on a dynamic journey.
“Beyond my own intellectual curiosity and inclination towards this piece, there is a deep recognition of how incredibly timely and important this film is,” said Brown. “We live in an age that is so ideologically polarized, where everyone is stuck in their own tribes, with no real dialogue. I want to make a film for all audiences that is emotional, thought-provoking and creative. A film that asks the big questions, while investigating what is at the heart of the human condition: love, faith and mortality.”
The play, which first premiered in 2009, has been described by the New York Times as “a sharp, lively discourse, and audience members searching for engaging debate will be pleased…Mark St. Germain’s script is astute, and the humor is plentiful.” So far, no other cast members have yet been announced. The film will begin shooting in the fourth quarter of 2022 in London.
