Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

A humorous, self-aware portrait of life’s fragility.

A Private Life – or Vie Privée as it was intended – follows a psychiatrist who turns sleuth as she investigates a patient’s unexpected death.

Jodie Foster delivers a finely tuned performance as Lilian Steiner, a woman whose professional life spent dissecting the minds of others, is at odds with her ability to understand her own. The film toys with psychoanalysis and Freudian theory, and while I’m sure I missed half the symbolism, I wasn’t mad at it.

It’s that rare film where you can feel the psychology in the smallest gestures and the wonderfully deliberate use of locations and framing. The movie is stuffed with spirals, staircases and mirrors so we become stuck and confused and feel deceived. It’s a clever commentary on the loops we find ourselves stuck in when we spend too long analysing instead of simply living.

There’s a beautiful irony in a scene where Foster’s character, a therapist, lights a cigarette for the patient she’s spent nearly a decade helping to quit. It’s a small, absurd moment that says everything about the contradictions of being human — we want to help, to heal, to understand, and yet we often end up feeding the very habits we’re trying to break. Sometimes life is complex in its simple, and that’s okay.

Married to the analysis and misdirection is an easy comedy that sets the tone of the film, and it works because it’s grounded in truth. On the surface A Private Life is about a possible murder investigation, but in reality it’s about connection – about being seen and heard. Lilian’s ex-husband, played by Daniel Auteuil an actor best known for his villainous roles (and clearly relishing the change), is sweet, patient, and entirely endearing. He adds a bland but necessary balance, symbolising the norm we all run from but always find our way back to.

A Private Life is, fittingly, a contained and charming piece. It’s full of humour and tenderness and holds up a mirror or two to the self-absorption we all carry and occasionally get trapped in. Most importantly the movie has left me wanting to explore more of the director Rebecca Zlotowski’s work so drop any recommendations below.

Watched during BFI London Film Festival 2025