A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]
A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]

Lillian (Jodie Foster), a psychiatrist living in Paris, learns one day that Paula (Virginie Efira), a patient she has treated for nine years, has died by suicide. Lillian had remained composed even when Paula snapped at her that therapy was a waste of money — but after hearing the news, she finds herself inexplicably unable to stop crying.

Contacted by Paula's daughter Valérie (Luana Bajrami), Lillian visits the family home to pay her last respects. When Paula's husband Simon (Mathieu Amalric) sees her at the door, however, he turns her away in a barely contained rage, for reasons she cannot understand.

Lillian has always led her life — even with her own family — by putting reason first. To get her uncontrollable tears under control, she seeks out a hypnotherapist a patient once mentioned. The hypnotherapist sees through to the deep grief behind the tears and guides Lillian into memories of a past life. Moving in and out of the unconscious under the hypnotherapist's voice, Lillian eventually discovers that she and Paula shared a profound connection in that previous existence.

A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]
A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]

Drawing on past-life memories uncovered under hypnosis and recordings of her sessions with Paula, Lillian becomes convinced that Paula did not simply take her own life. Her grief and guilt over losing a patient find expression not in tears that have run dry, but in a journey to find the real culprit. What secret surrounds Paula's death? Can Lillian uncover the truth and free herself from the responsibility and guilt that have held her captive?

An official selection in the non-competition section of the 78th Cannes International Film Festival, "Private Life in Paris" is carried by Foster's nuanced performance. Her portrayal of a fiercely rational psychiatrist who keeps colliding with the wall of her own certainty — struggling against guilt and suspicion — functions as the narrative spine of the film.

The situation is suspicious, yet never quite conclusively so, and the protagonist's journey — setting her own coordinates and charging straight ahead — leaves an impression that is, against the weight of the mystery-thriller genre, oddly cute, endearing and breezy. Lillian swipes someone else's delivery package, sneaks into a stranger's apartment and fumbles through a clumsy stakeout. Watching this supremely cool-headed woman throw caution to the wind is quietly delightful.

Moving between reason and emotion, Lillian searches for clues in her unconscious and swims through it with the boundary between reality and inner life dissolved. The unconscious — fused with emotion on the far side of reason — is rendered through visuals of an unusual, uncanny texture and a restless handheld camera, blending naturally with the real world. The direction is unshowy yet captures a distinctly French sensibility and rhythm.

A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]
A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]
A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]
A scene from the film "Private Life in Paris" [Provided by T-cast]

The film is directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, who has moved across thriller, romance and dark comedy with works including "Grand Central" (2013), "Planetarium" (2016) and "Other People's Children" (2022).

Lillian's chaotic, freewheeling pursuit — expanding into dreams and fantasy — ultimately resolves into a coming-of-age story for a middle-aged psychiatrist. In chasing the truth, she confronts the feelings and perceptions that the people closest to her have harbored for years, and comes to recognize her own share of responsibility for the fractured relationships she had long justified to herself.

Having locked herself behind closed doors and lived within her own framework as a wife, mother and doctor, Lillian is pushed by events to open doors she had never thought to try. "My mom never apologizes," her son Julien says, visibly thrown by her apology; a patient's puzzled question — "Why don't you record our sessions?" — reflects how far Lillian has grown, both as a person and as a professional.

True to its title, "Private Life in Paris" burrows into Lillian's innermost emotions and the private life she keeps hidden from the world. At the same time, the film weaves the strangeness of Paris as seen through the eyes of an American — its exotic allure and atmosphere — with a distinctly French loveliness. The mystery-thriller exterior conceals layers of growth, romance and humor beneath. A middle-aged romance woven through the spaces between genres is another highlight. Rated for audiences 15 and older.


balme@heraldcorp.com