A Private Life

by Mike McGranaghan

We’re used to seeing foreign actors performing in English, despite it not being their native language. Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, and Stellan Skarsgård do it all the time. Much less common is getting to see an English-speaking actor tackle a role in another language. Jodie Foster does just that in the French thriller A Private Life and, to nobody’s surprise, she’s outstanding.

The two-time Oscar winner plays psychiatrist Lilian Steiner. Her life is turned upside-down by the sudden death of her patient Paula (Virginie Efira). She attempts to go to the Shiva, only to be kicked out by the angry widower, Simon (Mathieu Amalric). Shortly afterward, Paula’s daughter Valérie (Luána Bajrami) gives Lillian what she believes is a secret note composed by her mother prior to her death. This leads Lilian to suspect murder. She teams up with ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil) to investigate.

A Private Life isn’t so much a “Whodunnit?” as it is a “What Really Happened?” The primary mystery here is whether Lilian is transferring her own unprocessed feelings onto the situation. Maybe Paula really was murdered, or maybe Lilian just convinces herself of that because she can’t handle the truth. Director Rebecca Zlotowski keeps you guessing throughout, and it’s fun trying to make sense of the central puzzle.

The film incorporates a slightly weird element, as Lilian visits a hypnotist who puts her under. This leads to an important revelation about the psychiatrist, but also some discussion of past lives that doesn’t really contribute much to the plot. Visuals used to convey her inner trek are cool. You have to be willing to suspend your disbelief a little, though.

If it threatens to go off the rails once or twice, Foster’s superior work keeps the story on track. Always skilled when it comes to suggesting the interior thoughts of her characters, she makes Lilian fascinatingly conflicted. The character has a full understanding of Freudian psychoanalysis yet has never thought to analyze herself. Paula’s death spurs all manner of inner torment as she realizes there may be unacknowledged feelings driving her actions. Foster perfectly captures a woman caught in the web of transference and repression.

Any good mystery lives or dies by the eventual revelation of the truth. A Private Life’s denouement is satisfying, following a certain logic while also meaningfully resolving Lilian’s personal crisis. Right here is the heart of the movie. Lilian provided therapy to Paula in life; Paula provides it to Lilian in death. With hints of humor, plenty of dramatic developments, Jodie Foster’s commanding turn, and inspired use of Talking Heads' song "Psycho Killer," this is an engrossing psychological riddle.

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