A Private Life Movie Review

This is, quite simply, really good. Jodie Foster plays an American Psychologist Dr. Lilian Steiner. Once married to a Frenchman, Dr. Gaby Haddad (Daniel Auteuil), with whom she shares a son, she’s comfortable in France and with the language, so much so that the only way to know she isn’t French is when she speaks using her American accent. ​

Foster is impeccable with her French. She speaks to everyone with respect, using the correct dialect. She and her ex-husband have a good relationship. Their son Julien (Vincent Lacoste), for whom she’s not particularly close, is confused about his parents’ friendship, but accepts it until Lilian gets very strange about what she recently learns from a patient and brings it to his doorstep. The film’s great opening features the song “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. Keep this in mind… know the words.

A patient she’s been working with for eight years wants to sue her for not curing him of his smoking habit. He has spent $32,000 with her and $8,000 more on cigarettes; he did the math, yet has not been freed from his habit. But he went to an alternative medicine doctor, played by Sophie Guillemin, and he was cured in one day. He wants restitution for the time and money he wasted with Dr. Lilian Steiner. She is seen as someone who works slowly, on purpose, to make more money, rather than actually curing the patient and tending to their needs. She records her sessions without paying much attention in the moment. Does she ever listen to them later? Does she even care? This might be something she needs to ask herself. Doctor, heal thyself.

She dives into the mystery of the death of Paula (Virginie Efira), one of her longtime patients. She goes to her wake and is excoriated by Paula’s widower. She cares very much for Paula and is heartbroken to hear of her passing, first believed to be suicide, then discovering it was murder. Was it him? Paula’s daughter knows Paula and Lilian were close… she’s the first to suggest it’s her father. Other deaths are discussed, and the film becomes a major mystery. She involves Gaby, who has nothing better to do, so why not join? She also sees the alternative medicine doctor, a hypnotist. Though skeptical, she is told she is a receptive subject. Every moment of this is solid. You’ll be enamored with the way it’s shot, the writing, and what she finds out about herself. She’s always been frigid. Why does she care so much about this woman?

While digging, a lot is revealed about Paula’s family. There’s an aunt she was close to, who left her a lot of money when she died. Could this be the reason for the husband wanting to kill Paula? I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s a lot to the characters. This is a good thriller about Lilian being stalked, and you’ll enjoy trying to figure out who’s doing it. The cinematography is incredible, the story is heavy, characters jump in who give you a lot to think about, and Jodie Foster is amazing. It’s a beautiful thriller that keeps you involved because you want to see Lilian survive her own life, not end up like Paula.