We always assume that we know those around us. We rely on the information we receive from friends, acquaintances, or even family members. We hope that those who open up to us tell the truth and nothing but the truth. And when there are gaps, we still want to believe we are on the right path in our quest to uncover more. But can we truly rely on what we know, what we remember, or do we need to challenge what seems so obvious?
Set in Paris, Academy Award winner Jodie Foster stars in a haunting psychological thriller, A Private Life. The story follows Lilian, an American psychoanalyst who begins to suspect that one of her long-time patients did not simply die by suicide, but may have been helped along in a far darker way. As she revisits audio recordings and pieces together fragments of the past, Lilian not only uncovers disturbing truths about her patient, but also confronts her own.
Co-written by Rebecca Zlotowski and Anne Berest, and directed by Zlotowski herself, A Private Life explores the fragile balance between what should remain private and what gets revealed. Exquisite direction and carefully built narrative make the film both intriguing and unsettling. What elevates it further is how perfectly Foster embodies Lilian — a woman forced to listen more deeply, not only to the words of her patient and the clues pointing to murder, but also to the silence within her own life.
Alongside Foster, the film features strong performances from Virginie Efira as Paula, Lilian’s troubled patient, Mathieu Amalric as Paula’s furious widower, and Luàna Bajrami as her taciturn daughter. Aided by her ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil), Lilian embarks on a dangerous journey that blurs the line between mystery and memory, with each step bringing her closer to the greatest case she has yet to solve — her own life, which may require just as delicate an approach as her investigation.
With sly touches of dark humor and Zlotowski’s sharp direction, A Private Life becomes more than a whodunnit. It is a haunting meditation on grief, memory, and the delicate threads that connect us across time, told through one of Jodie Foster’s most layered performances.