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- Rating: 3/5 stars
- Verdict: "A Private Life" perhaps takes a few too many twists and turns. The trippy black comedy thriller gets lost in itself at times. But an excellent score and a truly transformative performance from Jodie Foster always bring it back from the brink of mediocrity, and make it a worthwhile watch.
"A Private Life" is a surprisingly trippy, even quirky thriller. Perhaps, given that this movie is also considered a black comedy, that isn't a total shock. But for a movie that's ostensibly about a psychiatrist (Jodie Foster) investigating the mysterious death of one of her patients, there are more than a few moments that will have you laughing.
Still, while "A Private Life" is not the best movie I've seen this year so far, I do think it's worth checking out in theaters for one reason in particular.
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and thinks that Jodie Foster's French dialogue in this movie is one of the more remarkable feats of acting he's seen in a movie in the past year.
'A Private Life' is an intimate thriller, but it's just one performance that makes it stand out
As I already mentioned, "A Private Life" stars Foster as Dr. Lilian Steiner, an American psychiatrist living and working in Paris. She treats a wide range of patients, including Pierre (Noam Morgensztern), a smoker who fires her after a hypnotist (Sophie Guillemin) seemingly manages to cure his addiction in just one session, and Paula (Virginie Efira), a striking blonde woman who's missed several sessions, apparently because she's died.
From here, we get Lilian investigating the death of Paula, though not at first. Lilian only becomes obsessed with her patient's death following incessant, inexplicable crying, which sends her to Pierre's hypnotist. There, she enters a dream state where she's exploring what can only be explained as a former life, where she's a male cellist in Nazi-occupied Paris.
That's startling and trippy enough, but then it's revealed that she's having an affair with Paula, another cellist in the orchestra. Complicating things, Paula's husband, Simon (Mathieu Amalric), is there as well, and he's armed with a gun. After a few more twists and turns, Lilian awakens, determined to delve deeper into the mystery of Paula.
While this mystery at the core of this comedic thriller is intriguing and at times genuinely enthralling, it's not the standout of "A Private Life." In fact, I'd probably rate it the fifth-best thing about the movie, behind a few of the film's performances and the movie's delightfully executed score.
At the top of the list, though, would undoubtedly be Foster's performance as Lilian. Simply put, she's a revelation in this role, a remarkable comment to make about a five-time Oscar nominee (and two-time winner). Despite very much still looking like Jodie Foster, her seemingly impeccable French is transformative. Despite having the exact same face, you'd be hard-pressed to think that this woman and the star of "True Detective: Night Country" are the same person.
But that's why it's called acting, and as I just laid out, acting is something Foster is quite good at. Don't just take my word for it, either. Her performance as Dr. Steiner earned her a nomination for the Lumière Award for Best Actress, making her the first American to receive such a nomination.
So if you want to watch one of the more impressive performances I've seen in the past 12 months, make the trek to your local cinema to see this film festival darling, now that it's in American theaters. Provided you can handle a subtitled French film, I think you'll come away glad you watched it.
"A Private Life" is in U.S. theaters now
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