Agatha Christie Would Love ‘A Private Life’

Rebecca Zlotowski’s “A Private Life” stars Jodie Foster as Dr. Lillian Steiner, an American psychiatrist living in France with a revolving door of clients.

When one of her patients turns up dead, Steiner suspects foul play and investigates what appears to be a murder cover-up.

This cool little mystery, led by Foster’s excellent performance and a willingness to be old school in its presentation, is a French film with Foster ably speaking French for most of the running time.

Don’t let the subtitles turn you away. This features a gem of performance from Foster and an approach to the whodunit genre that is both a throwback and refreshingly offbeat.

“A Private Life” is low-key enough to merit comparison to the best of classical whodunits (I don’t mean “Knives Out,” I’m talking about Agatha Christie or even Arthur Conan Doyle). It manages to include enough touches of caustic humor to be contemporary.

Although set in modern day, Zlotowski’s film could have been a 1950s-set period piece.

Foster brings her natural authority, vulnerability and charisma to the role of a shrink who carries her patient’s secrets, making her an unwelcome presence in mixed company. This touch is handled well – when you’re a psychiatrist doing amateur sleuthing, how much of it is personal discovery and when does it cross the line if the suspect is a patient?

If you’re listening to the daily struggles and personal testimonies of patients and sworn to secrecy, how do you investigate suspects that have hired you to help them find catharsis?

It’s not a thriller akin to Foster’s hall-of-fame entries, “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) or “Panic Room” (2002). It’s also, thankfully, not among frivolous wannabes like “Flightrisk” (2004) or “The Brave One” (2007).

Unlike the recent, Foster-led season of “True Detective” (2024), her latest is enticing and fun most of the way and doesn’t crash in the late going. While the mystery maintains its fascination, there’s also a sustained lightness here that reminded me of Christie’s long-running 1952 play, “The Mousetrap.”

Also, and this is one of the best things about the film, there are scenes taking place in Foster’s mind that are so visually dazzling and cleverly handled, they merit comparison to David Lynch.

Surrealism can come across as heavy-handed and trying to hard if its not handled well. Here, it’s a welcome, unexpected touch.

Zlotowski deserves credit for including these stunning interludes, which don’t derail the film or distract from the carefully established tone.

“A Private Life” is also centered and interesting enough in its depiction of psychiatry to emerge as the better film of the season on the topic, surpassing the awful, crass scream fest “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.”

I wish there was a bigger kick to the final reveal, but the film overall manages to conclude in a satisfying way. If Foster winds up making a series of these films, then a new franchise is off to a strong start.

Three stars

The post Agatha Christie Would Love ‘A Private Life’ appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.