A Private Life (Drama)

Rating:

Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Producer: Frédéric Jouve,Albert Blasius
Screenwriter: Anne Berest,Gaëlle Macé,Rebecca Zlotowski
Cinematographer: George Lechaptois
Composer: Robin Coudert
Editor: Géraldine Mangenot
Production Designer: Katia Wyszkop
Costume Designer: Bénédicte Mouret
Key Cast: Jodie Foster,Virginie Emir,Daniel Auteuil,Luána Bajrami,Vincent Lacoste,Mathieu Almari

Jodie Foster delivers a delightful bilingual performance as a neurotic therapist turned amateur sleuth in this slippery thriller that charmed Cannes.

Liliane (Jodie Foster, in her first French-language film since Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s A Very Long Engagement) is an American psychiatrist working in Paris. Classy, controlled, ever the professional, she is thrown when she discovers that her patient Paula has unexpectedly died by suicide. She can’t shake the feeling that foul play may have been involved in Paula’s death – if only because that would absolve her of responsibility! – so she dives into her therapy session recordings for clues, and starts hunting around for possible suspects. From ex-husbands to doctors, hypnotists to fellow psychiatrists, Liliane will turn to anyone except herself for answers.

Director Rebecca Zlotowski (Other People’s Children; Planetarium; Grand Central) helms a zany, immensely entertaining thriller that balances Hitchcockian twists with an irrepressible sense of fun. Premiering at Cannes, A Private Life earned wide acclaim for Foster’s up-for-it leading turn as a highly strung shrink, which comes opposite a veritable who’s-who of French cinema, including Daniel Auteuil, Mathieu Amalric, Vincent Lacoste, Virginie Efira and Irène Jacob, as well as rising star Park Ji-min (The Little Sister, MIFF 2025). There’s even a cameo from 95-year-old cinema legend and MIFF perennial Frederick Wiseman in a cheekily wise role.

“There’s a deliciously overripe, almost campy quality to much of A Private Life that’s expertly balanced by the intense focus of Foster’s performance.” – Variety