Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, and co written by Anne Berest and Gaëlle Macé, A Private Life features an incredible cast. It is headed by Jodie Foster as Dr. Lilian Steiner, a Jewish-American psychiatrist, working in Paris, with Daniel Auteuil as her ex-husband, Gabriel and Mathieu Amalric as the husband of Paula (Virginie Efira), one of Lilian’s patients. When Paula dies, supposedly of suicide, Lilian is convinced that it was murder and she decides to investigate.
That sounds like a typical psychological thriller, and it certainly is that to an extent, albeit one with a disorientating, at times Hitchcockian, feel. But it is more than that. It touches on the ideas of personal and religious guilt, it has moments approaching horror, and with Lilian and Gabriel reconciling, it is, at its heart, also a love story.
The fantastic cast shine, particularly Foster and Auteuil. Amongst the supporting performances there are notable single scene appearances by the great Irene Jacob and the late Frederick Wiseman.
With the multiplexes packed with the usual lowest common denominator pap, A Private Life is an elegant film for sentient grown ups, and worth seeking out.
Rating: 8 out of 10