When renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster) learns of the death of one of her patients, doubting the official version of events, she becomes convinced that something is amiss and decides to look into the circumstances herself.
Vie privée is a psychological thriller but its genre category only tells part of the story. What makes the film enjoyable and entertaining even if fairly slight is not the quickly forgotten resolution of its mystery but Jodie Foster, delivering one of those performances that makes you remember, if it was ever needed, what a great, versatile actress she is, helped by a nicely written and compelling character, the most interesting part she has played in years.
The plot moves forward with competence, with clues, red herrings and the odd twist but it often feels less concerned with solving its central puzzle than with giving its lead character all the space she deserves. There is also something particularly pleasing and old-fashioned about the way Vie privée refuses to overcomplicate itself narratively however. In an era where prestige thrillers often collapse under the weight of their own cleverness, this film opts for simplicity.
Foster’s performance is the film’s undeniable selling point indeed, and it is remarkable how assured she feels in this French language leading role, decades after her supporting part in A Very Long Engagement, with the actress using new rhythms and cadences in her delivery and showing a facet of her that is new to audiences despite her vast filmography. There is a precision to her performance, a sharpness to her timing, that allows humour, irritation and introspection, often all within the same scene.
Her chemistry with Daniel Auteuil is another of the film’s great pleasures. He brings warmth and charm, and the dynamic between the two actors sizzles, with their mutual admiration and complicity. Their scenes together are charged not with a romantic tension but with something subtler and more rewarding, an unexpected comfort in their connection.
What is perhaps most refreshing is the film’s refusal to moralise its protagonist or her choices. She is a flawed character and Rebecca Zlotowski simply observes her, with curiosity and a certain wry affection.
If this film opens the door to further French projects for her, perhaps in a way French cinema welcomed Charlotte Rampling and Kristin Scott-Thomas, it would feel not only welcome but entirely deserved. Vie privée is proof that, sometimes, the most compelling cinema emerges not from narrative excess, but from a strong performance, a competent script and a director who I happy to stand back.
Review by Laurent de Alberti
Official Selection, Out of Competition
Star rating: ★★★☆☆
Vie Privée. Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. Starring Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil..
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