It came as quite the surprise that acclaimed director Rebecca Zlotowski’s latest film, led by Jodie Foster and an all-star French cast, did not make Cannes competition. If it turns out A Private Life might indeed be too slight for Palme consideration, this up-tempo comedic murder mystery is a breezy, fun means of showcasing delicious chemistry between legendary actors.
Foster plays Lilian, a Paris-based American psychiatrist who learns that her long-term patient Paula (Virginie Efira) has died. An aggressive outburst by Paula’s husband Simon (Mathieu Amalric) at her wake and subsequent meeting with their daughter yield suspicions she did not, as appearances suggest, commit suicide by taking all the drugs Lillian prescribed. Becoming more and more obsessed with learning who killed her patient, Lilian starts seeking answers from hypnosis-induced visions, which also lead to repercussions for her failed marriage with Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil) and strained relationship with son Julien (Vincent Lacoste).
The screenplay by Zlotowski, Gaëlle Macé and Anne Berest offers enough twists and turns to keep things moving at a brisk pace, and while various clues and red herrings––including the loss of a tape recording and recent death of Paula’s wealthy aunt––suggest a classic whodunit, one comes to realize that A Private Life‘s crime element is secondary to what the protagonist discovers about herself in the process. To that end, the screenwriters devised a juicy side plot about a hypnosis session in which Lilian “remembers” a previous life during German-occupied France where she and Paula were star-crossed lovers kept apart by forces incarnated by Simon and Julien.
For plot devices, this one works on multiple levels: it adds an air of supernatural mystique to the film and allows one to see the characters in an unexpectedly trippy light. While the vision may not prove all that helpful for solving the crime, it’s most important for unlocking suppressed truths regarding Lilian’s relationships with those around her, informing us about the character intimately. As someone who listens to people’s innermost anxieties for a living, Lilian thinks she’s attuned to her own issues. But why is she so affected by one patient’s death? Why does she seem unable to love her own child? Through this cheeky detour into the paranormal, A Private Life suggests that, no matter how well we think we know someone or ourselves, some parts of any human being will always remain private, out of reach.
Zlotowski’s direction is impressively lively, telling this story with a burst of energy that rarely lets up. Comedic elements of the tonal hybrid stand out for their potency. Memorable examples include the interactions between Lilian and the patient who introduces her to the hypnotist, or a family dinner scene where she tries making sense of all her troubles through glimpses she’s had into a past life as a concert cellist. The hypnosis scene is effectively, stylishly realized––one gets sense of Zlotowski’s versatility when funny banter at the office suddenly gives way to the vague dread of venturing into subconsciousness. The mystery at Private Life‘s heart is comparatively slight: after some perfunctory investigatory efforts by Lilian, the truth comes out too conveniently at the end, by which point the question of who killed Paula almost seems an afterthought.
The cast is game and consistently watchable. It’s great seeing Foster in a role where she not only brings her trademark steely-eyed intensity but gets to flex comedic muscles. A recurring gag sees Lilian constantly tearing up for no apparent reason, and while it’s undoubtable that Foster can give a good cry anytime, anywhere, how she mines the absurdity of this situation is what sells these scenes. Playing a divorced couple reconnecting through an unexpected death, she and Auteuil have a lot of sharp-tongued back-and-forth, and it’s a delight to see two titans of the craft be so easy around each other, letting sparks fly.
Shot with lush colors by DP George Lechaptois and featuring a propulsive soundtrack from Robin Coudert, A Private Life is never a dull affair. If it ultimately registers as somewhat insubstantial, lacking an inspired touch to wrap everything up, there’s enough to sustain entertainment for 100 quick minutes.
A Private Life premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and will be released by Sony Pictures Classics.
