Jodie Foster Stars In French Mystery Thriller A Private Life
The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, so all eyes on the movie world are on France. Last year’s event was packed with films too — including Jodie Foster’s French language mystery thriller A Private Life, which is set to get a UK release later this year. It follows Foster as a psychiatrist who lives in Paris, and decides to start her own investigation into the death of a patient, which she believes could be murder. Here’s all you need to know:
What is A Private Life about?
Jodie Foster, of course, has done plenty of thriller films, from The Silence of the Lambs to Panic Room, so A Private Life seems like a perfect fit — and she’s also acted in a few other French-language films in the past. Her character is Lilian Steiner, a Parisian psychoanalyst who has made a successful career for herself and helps her patients get their lives on track, though she has some troubles of her own. She has a difficult relationship with her son, Julien (Vincent Lacoste), and she faces a complaint from a client for ineffective therapy.
But she’s particularly shocked by the death of a patient of hers, Paula (Virginie Efira), who is believed to have taken her own life. However, things may not be so simple, and soon Lilian starts becoming convinced that there may have been foul play and that Paula was possibly murdered. She decides to start investigating the incident by herself and gets some help from her ex-husband, Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil).
Lilian starts becoming convinced that there may have been foul play
Import documents are missing from Lilian’s office, and as she investigates, things get murkier and murkier. When she visits a hypnotherapist, she discovers that her own relationship with Paula could have been older than she thought.
What else do we know, and who else stars?
Despite the subject matter and mostly being promoted as a mystery thriller film, A Private Life has also been described by reviewers as being partly comedic, and Foster’s performance has been reliably singled out for praise. Like many onscreen therapists, Lilian might need to check into therapy herself, as she becomes increasingly neurotic trying to get to the bottom of Paula’s death.
The film also stars Mathieu Amalric, who appeared in The Grand Budapest Hotel and as a Bond villain in Quantum of Solace, who plays Paula’s husband, Simon. Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman also cameos.
When does it release?
A Private Life releases in the UK on 26th June 2026, and you can watch the trailer below:
