A Private Life

2025 1h 48m FR

😐

5.5

MID

🍅

81%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★5.5TMDB · 280🍅81%Rotten Tomatoes●67Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 2,310

MysteryCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner learns of the sudden death of a patient, she suspects murder. She mounts a private investigation, enlisting an odd assortment of quirky characters.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Jodie Foster
Lilian Steiner
Daniel Auteuil
Gabriel Haddad
Virginie Efira
Paula Cohen-Solal
Mathieu Amalric
Simon Cohen-Solal
Vincent Lacoste
Julien Haddad-Park
Luàna Bajrami
Valérie Cohen-Solal
Noam Morgensztern
Pierre Hallant, smoking patient
Sophie Guillemin
Jessica Grangé, hypnotist

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Writers: Anne Berest, Gaëlle Macé, Rebecca Zlotowski
Languages: English, French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, shot by Georges Lechaptois. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Robin Coudert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Géraldine Mangenot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jodie Foster and Daniel Auteuil and Virginie Efira carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt33852162 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rebecca Zlotowski directs. Georges Lechaptois behind the camera. Robin Coudert scores. Géraldine Mangenot cuts. Produced in France. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
3Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, shot by Georges Lechaptois. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Robin Coudert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Géraldine Mangenot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jodie Foster and Daniel Auteuil and Virginie Efira carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt33852162 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Georges Lechaptois
Original score: Robin Coudert
Editing: Géraldine Mangenot
Production design: Katia Wyszkop
Makeup / hair: Laurent Bozzi
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $10,040,197
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A Private Life (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 67/100
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 2,310 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

6 nominations total

Also by

Rebecca Zlotowski

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-07-15
★ 6/10
"Lilian" (Jodie Foster) is a professionally successful psychiatrist who is divorced from optomatrist "Gaby" (Daniel Auteuil) and who has a strained relationship with her son "Julien" (Vincent Lacoste) and her new grandson "Joe". One of her regulars called "Paula" (Virginie Efira) hasn't being showing up lately, but she is still very shocked when her daughter "Valérie" (Luàna Bajrami) calls her to explain that her mother had taken her own life. She goes to the funeral only to discover that her now widower husband "Simon" (Mathieu Amalric) blames her for her suicide. What could she possibly have had to do with it? Well "Valérie" is convinced that something is going on, and presents the doctor with a prescription covered in some enigmatic scribbles. A clue, perhaps? Shortly afterwards, "Lilian" interrupts a burglar in her plush Paris apartment and is soon convinced that the mini-disc that was stolen, pertaining to this deceased client, points to some sort of familial involvement - and possibly even murder! Her ex-husband is still quite keen on her, so together they now set about doing a bit of "Miss Marple"-ing, but at each turn their mystery appears to deepen. Meantime, she has had to deal with an unstoppable tendency to weep. She's a professional so would surely know if she had some deep rooted cause for this, so instead seeks out the help of hypnotherapist "Jessica" (Sophie Guillemin) who suggests that there was much more going on between her and her erstwhile patient. Still with me? What now ensues mixes a series of flashbacks with some far-fetched detective work and a great deal of rain to deliver something that's remarkably shallow. Barring Foster's obvious skill with the French tongue and Auteuil's striking resemblance to Tom Conti, I couldn't really find anything here to get my teeth into. The conclusion is explained and wrapped into one scene that gathers together the scraps of information we may have observed (or overlooked) throughout, but in a fashion that left me wanting to know just what the point of much of the film was. It's not that it's a vanity project for Foster, or director Rebecca Zlotowski, but it's got so little of substance it comes across as the former showing off a little of her linguistic legerdemain whilst everyone else, except possibly Guillemin, portrays undercooked characters with little to play for. Sorry, but I found this to be very disappointing.

Production companies