Filming on Freud's Last Session seems to be underway in earnest now, with both lead actors in Dublin, and (in the case of Sir Anthony at least) in costume.

https://twitter.com/stevehpix/status/1639943460605026306?s=19

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Although it's not quite the full costume shot, I'd still be interested to know what people think of the casting choice for CS Lewis here. 

Update: @rose @fantasia

Here it is... The first official photo of Hopkins and Goode both in costume and on set as Freud and Lewis respectively.

https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/freudslastsession/

At the risk of quadruple posting here, the thrill of having an actual real-life movie production to report on for NarniaWeb is just too tempting to miss out on after 13 years of waiting - even if it is only tangentially related to the Chronicles.

Anyway, filming for Freud's Last Session had been taking place at Ardmore Studios in Bray, just south of Dublin, but it looks like they've now switched to the outdoor portion of the film shoot.

On Thursday last week they shot a fairly substantial outdoor scene in the picturesque village of Enniskerry, just outside of Bray, which i would guess was being used as a stand-in for 1930's Hampstead Village (based on the London-centric nature of the set decorations at least) though since they are clearly expanding the story out from just the basic "two men in a room" premise, I guess it doesn't necessarily need to be Hampstead.

The local antiques shop posted a good set of videos and photos on their Instagram page which show Matthew Goode as C.S. Lewis doing a scene with another actor who I can only presume is playing Warnie Lewis (since it looks like Jack is being dropped off by someone he knows, riding on a motorcycle together) but theoretically it could be someone else entirely I guess:

https://www.instagram.com/enniskerryantiqueswicklow/  

The local coffee shop also posted a photo of Matthew Goode in costume, showing off what I think is a quintessentially Lewisy tank-top (or "sweater vest" as i think it would be called in America?)

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One of the producers also shared some Behind-the-Scenes photos to their official Instagram Page:

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And the local community pages for Enniskerry on Facebook are also awash with people sharing their photos of the set dressings, period vehicles, and extras in costume, which are well worth taking a look at if you are interested in movie making. Alternatvely doing a search for "Matthew Goode" on Twitter will yield you a lot of results, since he seems to have quite the pro-active fanbase.

In addition, some scenes were shot in the Dalkey area of Dublin with both Goode and Hopkins, where they look to have re-created the exterior of Freud's London home in Maresfield Gardens (scroll through on the photos below):

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And there were also some scenes shot on the estate of Killruddery House, also outside of Bray, near Dublin, though i'm not quite sure what that could be for.

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Whilst it looks like they are expanding the visual scope of the movie out considerably beyond its original stage-based format, its pleasing to know that everything is all still being written by the original playwright Mark St Germain, giving him the opportunity to flesh out his original vision for the story and take advantage of the cinematic experience to hopefully take it to the next level.

The film industry trade-papers have already positioned this movie very firmly in the 2024 Oscar Race, so expectations are high that this should be something special.

https://variety.com/lists/2024-oscar-predictions/

@icarus the item of clothing was usually called a 'pullover', sometimes a 'sleeveless pullover'.  It's a sleeveless jumper or jersey, in British English. Always a woollen knitted item that replaces the waistcoat of more formal wear. 

The 'tank top' was a fashionable item in the 1970s, essentially a sleeveless tee-shirt, always coloured to distinguish it from the men's cotton underwear item called a vest or singlet in England. 

Variety today have published a new look at the movie's leads in a similar, but not identical, photo to the one i posted before.

https://variety.com/2023/film/global/anthony-hopkins-matthew-goode-freuds-last-session-1235579267/

They have also confirmed that Liv Lisa Fries is playing Anna Freud, as well as the following cast members listed below:

• Jodi Balfour
• Stephen Campbell Moore
• Jeremy Northam
• Orla Brady 

Jodi Balfour was previously added to the IMDB cast as Dorothy Burlingham (Anna Freud's partner) and one of Jeremy Northam or Stephen Campbell Moore is presumably playing Warnie Lewis as spotted on set, which presumably then leaves Orla Brady as Janie Moore given that Orla's about 20 odd years older than Matthew Goode.

I guess then of the leftover actor, that could be either be for Sigmund's son Ernst Freud (father to the famous painter Lucian Freud) or as an outside bet perhaps they are going to find a way to squeeze JRR Tolkien into it from the Lewis side of the equation?

There's been a couple of interesting updates from the production this week if anyone's interested....

Firstly, a few of the British tabloids have published some on-location photos from the movie of Hopkins and Goode filming a scene in which they attend Church together as Freud and Lewis respectively. It gives you a good idea of how they are breaking the story out from the confines of Freud's study (such as it is in the stage play) and having them go to a wider variety of visually interesting locations as they continue their discussions about life.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/anthony-hopkins-seen-sigmund-freud-29719911

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1758673/anthony-hopkins-sigmund-freuds-last-session-matthew-goode

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11981151/Freuds-Session-LOOK-Sir-Anthony-Hopkins-plays-neurologist-Sigmund-Ireland-film-set.html

Secondly, they seemingly shot a First World War trench scene for the movie, presumably showing us the influence that Lewis' service in WW1 and the death of his friend Paddy Moore had on his later life. Again, another indicator of how they are expanding out the scope of the stage play to show us things that were previously only discussed retrospectively by the characters within the confines of Freud's study. Also very exciting that we will be getting to see much larger portions of Jack's life play out on screen (presumably it also means we can expect to see casting details for a Young C.S. Lewis in due course)

Photos by the film's Director of Photography, Ben Smithard, below:

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https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/news/filmmakers-behind-new-anthony-hopkins-movie-to-carry-out-explosions-in-wicklow-42431112.html

I'm not interested in seeing this particular film myself, but one thing puzzles me about it. Is it supposed to be based on true events at all? I don't know much about Sigmund Freud, but I have read a few biographies of C.S. Lewis and there's no mention of him ever meeting with Freud — I don't recall any indication that Lewis even had an interest in Freud's ideas, or Freud in Lewis's ideas. So I'm assuming the plot of the film is entirely fictional, since Freud is such a famous and controversial figure in pop culture as well as in history — and Lewis is still pretty well known too — that I should think it would be well known if they ever did meet in person or even have a debate by correspondence.

But if so, do we know if there's any indication in the film itself that this is a work of fiction and, while it may include ideas and views that these two famous thinkers are known to have held, the actual events portrayed here never happened in real life? I've seen or heard of too many "historical" films that make stuff up about real-life historical figures for the sake of a good story, and then of course because it was in a film, people start believing that it actually happened...  

(And if I'm wrong and Lewis and Freud DID have some interaction in real life, I apologise unconditionally, but I certainly hadn't heard about it before!!)

@courtenay 

So the thing that is really interesting about this movie, is that it must be the first case ever of being a Movie, based on a Play, based on a Text Book, based on a University Lecture.

I think the story goes that in the 1960s, Harvard Professor Armand Nicholli started doing a seminar where he used the life of Sigmund Freud as a framework for talking about various things. Then, in response to his students' feedback, he decided to use the life of CS Lewis to form an interesting counter point to those discussions on Science and Religion - Freud as the Believer turned Atheist, Lewis as the Atheist turned Believer.

This then formed the basis of his later book "The Question of God" which was adapted into a PBS documentary, and the text book was then adapted into a stage play by the playwright Mark St Germain, who also wrote the script for this movie.

So yes, the premise is entirely fictional, but I think the genesis of the idea is a genuinely fascinating evolution of an intellectual framework within which to discuss the nature of life, religion and existence.

Here are some various links worth looking at:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2002/09/harvard-gazette-the-question-of-god/

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/97753

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13043404-freud-s-last-session

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/why/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/nyregion/a-review-of-freuds-last-session-a-play-by-mark-st-germain.html

Posted by: @icarus

So the thing that is really interesting about this movie, is that it must be the first case ever of a Movie based on a Play based on a Text Book based on a University Lecture.

 

Now that's just about doing my head in...  

Seriously though, those links you provided are incredibly interesting — thanks, icarus. I don't have time right now to read all the pages of the PBS website, but I'm getting the general idea. Interesting that the Harvard Gazette concluded that "Lewis wins, hands down", at least on the question of which worldview brings happiness!

It will be interesting though, as you say, as to whether the movie itself will provide any indication to the audience that the literal events portrayed on screen are entirely fictional, even if the views and opinions expressed by each character is technically based on their real-life academic works.

On the one hand you don't want to take the audience out of the moment before you've even got started with a complicated disclaimer, but on the other hand you perhaps don't want audiences coming away with the conclusion that this is an actual historical meeting that actually took place. If anything though, I think telling the audience up-front that this is more of a "philosophical construct" within which to explore ideas about science, religion, god, and existence, actually makes the movie much much more interesting than if it were merely portraying a chance real-world encounter that actually happened. In a way, it kind of reminds me of how Plato structured much of of his philosophical writings in the form of fictionalised dialogues between himself and his former teacher Socrates (even though he was dead at the time) as a way to explore and explain complex ideas.

Perhaps its something that you can more easily get away with on stage, where the audience is likely to be a little bit more considered and appreciative of non-literal representations in theatrical works, plus you have the play bill or programme in front of you to explain the context of the production if needed. Therefore it will be interesting to see whether the more definitive "realness" of a cinematic adaptation amplifies or diminishes that concept.

Overall I think the movie it will most closely resemble, from a conceptual point of view at least, is Fernando Meirelles' "The Two Popes" (also starring Anthony Hopkins incidentally) which is constructed around the framework of a semi-fictional conversation between Pope Benedict and Pope Francis. I guess there is a greater probability that these two figures did actually speak to each other at some point in real life, but the overall point of the film is to use their imagined dialogue to explore the competing views on religion and the role of the Catholic Church held by these two prominent figures. Again, its supposed to be taken as more of a "philosophical construct" than a literal reality.

Partly that's also one of the reasons why I think this film should do well when it comes to next year's Academy Awards. Not only do the Oscar voters love Anthony Hopkins, and biopics in general, but they've also shown a fondness for this sort of "intellectual head-to-head" movie, with things like The Two Popes, The Kings Speech, and Frost/Nixon all picking up nominations in most of the big categories.

So the movie is one big 'IF'? 

I have decided to avoid it, due to another controversial aspect which the makers seem to be keen on  digging over, and I will not name here.

But I'm no longer a Hopkins fan, didn't like him in Shadowlands, and am disgusted that he gave up being Welsh for taxation purposes.

IMDB have updated their casting list for the movie, most excitingly including confirmation of a role for JRR Tolkien in the film:

• Anthony Hopkins as Sigmund Freud
• Matthew Goode as CS Lewis
• Liv Lisa Fries as Anna Freud
• Jodi Balfour as Dorothy Burlingham
• Padraic Delaney as Warren Lewis
• George Clarke as Paddy Moore
• Stephen Campbell Moore as JRR Tolkien

Given that the film deals heavily with Lewis's conversion to Christianity, and that Tolkien is referred to in the dialogue of the original play when discussing Lewis's life, it makes sense they would expand Tolkien's role out into a proper depiction for the cinematic version.

Also of interest is confirmation from a local newspaper of who is playing the Younger version of CS Lewis

• Rhys Mannion as Young CS Lewis

That leaves the following actors in as yet unconfirmed roles

• Jeremy Northam
• Orla Brady
• Tarek Bishara 

Posted by: @icarus

That leaves the following actors in as yet unconfirmed roles

• Jeremy Northam
• Orla Brady
• Tarek Bishara 

Just for the sake of completion then, it now looks like we have all of the main casting roles confirmed.

Jeremy Northam is playing Dr Ernest Jones, a close friend and colleague of Sigmund Freud.

Tarek Bishara is playing Jacob Freud, the father of Sigmund Freud, whilst Gary Buckley is playing Albert Lewis, the father of C.S. Lewis, indicating we are going to get a fairly deep-dive into both men's history and upbringing.

Orla Brady then is playing Mrs Janie Moore.

Sony Pictures have now set the premiere for Freud's Last Session to be at the American Film Institute Festival on October 27th, followed by a limited theatrical release in cinemas on December 22nd, and then a wider release in all cinemas in January / February sometime - all three of these things would suggest the studio is making a big push for the movie to be a serious Oscar contender (i.e. target oscar voters on the festival circuit, get the movie in cinemas to meet eligibility requirements, and then go big during the build up to the awards season to get everyone talking about the film).

Hopefully if the studio has faith in the movie it means they know they've got a great film on their hands.

Having seen the play, I can definitely see the potential for it to really generate some great award-worthy performances from it's two leads, with it's witty back-and-forth dialogue, and lofty themes, but I guess my one worry has been that it might not have a definitive enough conclusion to translate to the cinematic experience - not really a spoiler, but the play doesn't really offer any particular resolution to Freud and Lewis' philosophical debate - though perhaps in today's highly polarised media environment, that might not be such a bad position to take.

Anyway, here is a new photo of Matthew Goode as CS Lewis. Hopefully the trailer will be on its way soon:

https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/freudslastsession/

The first teaser trailer is now available:

FREUD'S LAST SESSION | Teaser Trailer (2023) - YouTube

UPDATE:

A few reviews of the movie from it's World Premiere at the AFI Film Festival are also now online too:

Deadline

https://deadline.com/2023/10/freuds-last-session-review-anthony-hopkins-matthew-goode-1235585766/

Variety

https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/freuds-last-session-review-anthony-hopkins-1235771657/

The Hollywood Reporter

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/freuds-last-session-review-anthony-hopkins-matthew-goode-matthew-brown-1235630951/

The Wrap

https://www.thewrap.com/freuds-last-session-review-anthony-hopkins/

Screen Daily

https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/freuds-last-session-afi-fest-review/5187335.article

Telly Visions

https://tellyvisions.org/article/freuds-last-session-review

Next Best Picture

https://nextbestpicture.com/freuds-last-session/

Awards Watch

https://awardswatch.com/freuds-last-session-review-are-you-there-god-its-me-sigmund-afi-fest/

Thanks for tracking all of this @icarus!

The trailer definitely sparked my interest in the film. Looking forward to reading the reactions here!