Review:
"A Private Life"
Release Date: Jan. 26, 2026 Rating: R Running Time: 103 minutes The refined mystery A Private Life opens with Jodie Foster’s American psychiatrist in Paris being disturbed by the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” blasting through the walls of an adjacent apartment. Foster’s patients are not serials killers in the making—they need help with everyday concerns, such as mending personal relationships or quitting cigarettes—but the strange and unexpected death of one patient leaves Foster’s Dr. Lilian Steiner so shaken and disturbed that she decides to play amateur detective. Did Virginie Efira’s Paula kill herself using medication prescribed by Lilian? Or was she murdered? Following a visit by Paula’s concerned daughter, Lilian teams up with her ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil) to uncover the truth behind Paula’s untimely death. Directed with a light touch by Rebecca Zlotowski, the playfully intriguing A Private Life is less about Paula’s investigation into a possible murder but a deep dive into the psyche of a mental health profession unable to get a grip on their own personal and professional issues. A Private Life agreeably plays into the notion that a psychiatrist always makes the worst patient. So Lilian’s reluctance or inability to confront her own hard truths—especially when it comes to her relationship with her patients—manifests itself into a smart and witty inquiry into what may or may not have been a crime. While Zlotowski remains concerned about where the trail of evidence leads Lilian, her focus stays strictly on how the triggering event pushes Lilian to the edge of rationality. Speaking mostly in French, Foster finds fuel in Lilian’s increasing obsessive behavior but still manages to tightly control her downward spiral. She presents Lilian not as a mental health professional losing her mind but as woman with unresolved issues that threaten to destabilize a long and successful career. Lilian’s personal life is another matter. Her relationship with her son Julien (Julien Haddad-Park) is fraught, and she remains too close to her ex-husband Gabriel for comfort. That said, Lilian and Gabriel make for a delightful ex-couple, so much so that it leaves you wondering why they divorced in the first place. A Private Life finds its footing once Lilian drags a mildly hesitant Gabriel into her investigation. Yes, the tightly wound Foster and the relaxed and emotionally honest Auteuil make for an odd ex-couple, but they complete each other in every possible way. And it is such a pleasure to see them work together as closely and as complementary as they do. They deserve each other, even if they don’t believe they still belong together, and we deserve more time with them than A Private Life allows. Only Murders in le bâtiment, anyone? Aired: Jan. 28, 2026. Web sites: https://privatelifefilm.com/ https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/aprivatelife/ |
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