The story’s foundation—a meeting that seemingly never occurred—is undeniably captivating. The film centers on an encounter between the celebrated, but unwell, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) and C.S. "Jack" Lewis, a professor from Oxford University (Matthew Goode). Lewis's tardiness frustrates his host, particularly as his daughter Anna (Liv Lisa Fries) must depart for work while he depletes the morphine he relies on to manage the escalating pain of his oral cancer. What was intended as a brief discussion evolves into a connection between these two men who hold fundamentally different beliefs regarding God’s existence. Their dialogue unfolds with formality, yet occasionally becomes intensely intellectual. These moments are where the film truly shines; the cleverness displayed by both characters elicits smiles and provokes some contemplation. However, there simply aren't sufficient scenes of this nature to carry what is ultimately a somewhat haphazardly constructed drama that tends to drift along, filled with too many sighs and shrugs, the expected instances of laughter from Sir Anthony, and a regrettable lack of substantial intellectual argument. An excessive amount of time is devoted to his daughter’s relationship with Dorothy Burlingham (Jodi Balfour)—and her father's objections to it—and while recollections of Lewis's wartime experiences do provide some background, they feel underdeveloped in clarifying the reasons behind this former atheist’s conversion to a strong faith. The production values are agreeable, but perhaps that’s all the film truly amounts to: a three-act play utilizing a few tastefully decorated rooms and atmospheric rainy sounds. Hopkins and Goode have good chemistry on screen, yet it remains a regretful failure to fully explore the intricate and occasionally amusing perspectives of these two refined thinkers—and that is disappointing.

Source on TMDB