A Private Life / Vie privée (2025)

A Private Life / Vie privée (2025)

Also known as Paris Murder Mystery (2025), particularly in Germany.

There are several cover designs for this film. The lead actress is always shown in front of the mailboxes, but she is either alone or with photos of the other characters floating in front of her and the mailboxes. In some photos, she’s wearing a brown jacket that’s blue in others.

As soon as I saw it said “Cannes Film Festival,” I thought to myself: Here we go again! I’m watching yet another nameless piece of trash!!!

But I behaved myself; I did my homework. I stayed anyway, telling myself, “You never know…”

The film begins with the intro to the fabulous song “Psycho Killer” by the incredible Talking Heads. It comes back a little later. Is it okay to put the best bands in the worst movies? Let’s say yes… that way, the film at least has one good thing… which isn’t even in it or doesn’t even come from it!

Lilian Steiner is a renowned psychiatrist. One day, she learns of the death of one of her patients. Disturbed, Lilian convinces herself that it was a murder, so she decides to conduct her own investigation…

So, it was also the cast that kept me watching. Jodie Foster in a French film (again), Daniel Auteuil, and Virginie Efira—that definitely caught my attention, because I respect this trio. Unfortunately, I’m also known for not liking French cinema, in general!

I’ve known for a while that Jodie Foster speaks French fluently. So much so that she dubs her own voice. She dubs her characters in American films into the language of Molière. She starred in A Very Long Engagement alongside Audrey Tautou, who has also appeared in American films.

Foster was my favorite actress for a very short time. I was blown away when I saw her in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). And it was a wise move on her part not to star in its sequel, Hannibal, especially since Julianne Moore was the perfect choice as her successor. But after that, I didn’t love her movies, even though I don’t doubt her extraordinary talent for a second. Maverick (1994) is nice, but nothing special. Contact (1997) is worth watching once, but not necessarily more. Flightplan (2005) could have been much better, but Inside Man (2006) isn’t bad at all. Siesta (1987) is really bad, even though the idea was actually good. Plus, it had an incredible cast—totally unlikely—with Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, Isabella Rossellini, Martin Sheen, Julian Sands, Grace Jones, and Alexei Sayle. Just that alone!

That said, my favorites are definitely The Accused (1988), Panic Room (2002), The Brave One (2007), and Carnage (2012)—which also stars Kate Winslet, who has been… my new favorite actress for years now. Taxi Driver (1976) is an excellent debut, in any case.

Wait a second! I just realized I’ve never seen Backtrack (1990) or Bugsy Malone (1976)! What a shame!!! And those probably aren’t the only ones. I’m going to have to catch up…

Alright! Let’s finally get to the movie:

The very first scene… looks like a final scene! I’m talking about the arm lying in the snow and the hand moving slightly.

The movie’s title appears eight minutes in, after a pretty gripping opening. It reappears at the end, just before the opening credits and the end credits.

A French psychological drama and crime film directed by Rebecca Zlotowski (her sixth feature film), who is also known as an actress and screenwriter. Additionally, she plays the cello (an instrument seen in the film) and is Jewish. I mention this because there’s a piece of information that the main character interprets as anti-Semitic during a hypnosis session.

By the way, I was happy to see Sophie Guillemin again (albeit in just one scene, unfortunately), who had been nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 2001—for the second time. She had stopped acting in 2002, but, fortunately for her fans, it was only a hiatus during which she focused on raising her daughter. At age 22, she converted to Islam, which sparked quite a bit of backlash around her. She eventually stopped wearing the hijab in 2005 without compromising her faith—basically, so she could feel the sun again.

If you’re one of those people who only watches movies for Virginie Efira, know that she’s barely in it. It was mostly a publicity stunt!

Okay, I admit it… I ended up not liking this movie and was even extremely disappointed. Okay, it was screened “out of competition” at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, but I’ve never seen a movie I liked that was shown at Cannes. To me, it’s just as bad as everything shown at the Neuchâtel Film Festival. That’s not exactly right! Actually, it’s the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.

I’d give it two stars mainly for Jodie and her ability to speak several languages fluently. The investigation isn’t thrilling, nor is it really exciting. There’s some totally unnecessary sex.

This gives therapists who discuss past lives a bad reputation. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. But just as hypnosis has finally been accepted (even in hospitals, despite having been the subject of ridicule in the past), we continue to stigmatize good therapists who are trying to make a living, while all the attention is focused on the charlatans.