Considering the subject matter, A Private Life shouldn't be as funny as it is. But in Jodie Foster's hands, it's a darkly comedic triumph.
Foster, who speaks fluent French and has acted in a number of French films like A Very Long Engagement and Moi, fleur bleue, is nothing short of formidable in A Private Life (Vie privée). Directed and co-written by Rebecca Zlotowski (Other People's Children), this witty thriller sees Foster as an American psychiatrist in Paris turned amateur sleuth as she investigates the sudden death of a patient. It's not a set-up that screams comedy, but the film truly pulls it off, with the Hollywood icon delivering dry humor and straight-laced drama with characteristic finesse alongside lauded French actors Mathieu Amalric and Daniel Auteuil.
With the film's core mystery wrapped in golden-leafed Parisian streets, mid-century modernist furniture, and an almost exclusively auburn and navy costume palette, A Private Life is an autumnal delight that digs deep, gets surreal, and honestly cracked me up.
Jodie Foster is impeccable at dry humour in A Private Life.
Making a masterpiece of dry, offhand remarks and eye rolls, Foster delivers an inadvertently comedic performance as Lilian Steiner, the film's determined protagonist. A traditionalist down to her beloved MiniDisc recorder, Lillian is a psychiatrist firm in her ethical principles, which are tested when her patient, Paula Cohen-Solal (Benedetta star Virginie Efira), dies suddenly by suicide. Though she harbours feelings of closeness with Paula, cold reactions from resentful widow Simon (Amalric) and her reticent daughter Valerie (Luana Bajrami) make it clear Lillian isn't welcome at Paula's memorial events. But what exactly happened, and who is responsible?
Zlotowski co-wrote the film with Anne Berest and Gaëlle Macé, and Foster's ability to hit every comedic and dramatic note feels like a privilege to watch. In a rare French-speaking role as an American expat in Paris, Foster uses English sparingly, almost exclusively for cursing, to hilarious effect. Nobody says "what the f***" like Jodie Foster.
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A literal professional at processing emotion, Lillian's a deeply practical person, seeing crying as an inconvenient reason for an eye exam instead of the result of mourning. "I'm not crying, it's the eyes," she insists. Lillian can't quite shake the feeling that she didn't see Paula's death coming, refusing to doubt her own psychiatry skills or deep connection to her patient, and launching into her own private investigation, she suspects foul play. Plus, she knows someone is following her. Due to doctor-patient confidentiality, Lillian can't disclose any information to actual detectives to get them on the case, but she does find a fellow amateur sleuth in her charismatic ex-husband Gabriel (Auteuil), whose relationship with Lillian forms the film's unexpected true heart.
Through Foster and Auteuil's lived-in performance, their comfort and ease with each other and sense of history, Lillian and Gabriel's complex bond forms the foundation of the film, as they almost gleefully attempt to uncover Paula's secrets as exhilarated citizen detectives. Each step of the trail brings them closer together and to the truth, with Gabriel triumphantly shouting, "Drive!" like a heist character when he's picked up a clue, or Lillian suggesting a dubious stakeout.
A Private Life's core mystery is just a starting point.
Beyond the core mystery, Zlotowski peers further into Lillian’s psyche using unexpected moments of surrealism. Though she's skeptical of alternative medicine, Lillian gives hypnotherapy a whirl at a loose end, descending into a wondrous state of hypnosis mid-eye roll. What follows is a brief but beautiful sequence into a dream-like world, a realm of liquid glass tabletops, bright red staircases, and falling snow, where Lillian's supposed past life sits behind closed doors. These scenes, beautifully shot by cinematographer George Lechaptois, becomes crucial to Lillian understanding her relationships with Paula and the people in their lives, though her son Julien (Lost Illusions star Vincent Lacoste) struggles to understand it. But it's through Foster's sense of conviction and movement that sells what could have been a frivolous sequence, rendering it of the utmost importance to Lillian's sense of self.
Despite Efira's magnetic presence, the character of Paula feels intentionally lacking in depth, posthumously crafted through her taped conversations with Lillian and brief reflections from her husband and daughter. The result is that we really don't get to know Paula at all beyond her psychiatry sessions, mirroring Lillian's own limited knowledge of her patient, despite the intimate level of personal divulgence enabled by their dynamic.
But there's one element of A Private Life that unashamedly steals the spotlight from the characters, demanding to be known: Paris itself.
A Private Life boasts a sublime Parisian aesthetic.
Autumnal excellence is apparently the order of the day for production design in some of this year's best films (looking at you, The Mastermind), and A Private Life continues the trend. From Lillian's spiral-staircased appartement filled with leather Eames-style chairs, coffee-hued drapes, velvet cushions, and abstract art to the wood panelling and brass of Gabriel's favourite restaurant, the film breathes Parisian fall flair into every scene thanks to production designer Katia Wyszkop. It's all ceramic cups of coffee beside idling cigarettes, sprawling parquetry floors, wooden library filing cabinets, and chocolate woollen trench coats from costume designer Bénédicte Mouret. And like all good mysteries, the film is set during near constant drizzle, as Phoenix's Robin Coudert rolls out the optimal jazz score for the occasion.
Despite the film's major question mark being steeped in a heavier subject matter, the aesthetic trimmings and charming performances keep each scene a balance of dark and light. As Lillian channels her misplaced guilt into sleuthing and finds old flames rekindled, Zlotowski's film becomes more than a simple whodunnit, but a surprising, comedic, and brilliantly performed exploration of relationships and the extent to which we let people in. It's a perpetual irony, Lillian acknowledges, "knowing people's secrets and not being able to act." But ultimately, act she does.
A Private Life was reviewed out of the BFI London Film Festival, where it is showing on Oct. 9 and 11. It is also showing at the New York Film Festival on Oct. 5, 6, and 12, and will hit cinemas Jan. 16, 2026.
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