Telluride Film Festival Review: Jodie Foster Captivates While Going Down the Rabbit Hole of ‘A Private Life’

Jodie Foster is one of our great actresses (as well as a hell of a filmmaker). There’s very little that she can’t do, so to see her challenge herself with a whole new type of performance is quite exciting. Foster delivers a turn almost entirely in French, save for some cursing, in A Private Life, which is consistently captivating to watch. Playing at the Telluride Film Festival, the movie isn’t up to her performance, but it still features it, so it’s impossible to discount.

A Private Life knows what it has in Foster’s work, so she’s in nearly every single shot. There’s some genre ping ponging going on, as well as tonal inconsistencies, which limit its success, but Foster is ace money. The more you focus on the plot, the less satisfying the flick is, though when you hone in on Foster’s performance, you’re always on firm ground.

American expat psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Foster) has a thriving practice in France. When one of her patients, Paula Cohen-Solal (Virginie Efira), misses three appointments in a row, Lilian calls to see what the story is. While with another patient, one who is canceling their sessions, she receives a call from Valérie Cohen-Solal (Luàna Bajrami), Paula’s daughter. Paula has died. Lilian attends shiva services, only to be angrily chased off by widow Simon Cohen-Solal (Mathieu Amalric), who believes her medication prescriptions led to her death. In the aftermath, Lilian keeps experiencing tears leading her to first consult her eye doctor ex husband Gabriel Haddad (Daniel Auteuil), then a hypnotist (Sophie Guillemin) one of her patients used. During that session, she becomes convinced that Paula didn’t kill herself, but instead has been murdered.

Immediately suspicious of Simon, she recruits Gabriel to help her begin an amateur investigation. They have a friendly flirtation, despite the divorce, which is at odds with her frosty relationship with adult son Julien (Vincent Lacoste). As she pursues leads, someone is harassing her too, only furthering her conviction that she’s on to something.

Jodie Foster is the reason to see this flick, given the wonderful turn on display. Speaking what seems like impeccable French, she finds lots of humor in having her swearing be done in English. Even as she appears to be cracking a bit during the investigation, she’s nothing less than completely compelling. Foster is completely the centerpiece here, with only Daniel Auteuil among the central supporting players leaving an impression, given his charm on display. The cast is rounded out by Jean Chevalier, Aurore Clément, Irène Jacob, Park Ji-min, among others.

Filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski directs a screenplay she co-wrote with Anne Berest and Gaëlle Macé. Zlotowski has a playfulness on display at times that suggests a lighter and probably superior film. She clearly wants A Private Life to have fun elements, though to ultimately be a more intellectual endeavor. At times, it lands exactly like that. At other times, however, things meander and aside from Foster, you feel like the wheels are spinning, especially given the less than satisfying manner in which the mystery is resolved.

A Private Life is at its best when Jodie Foster is just allowed to show off. Being willing to down the rabbit hole with her, if you are, is only because of just how great she is. That shouldn’t be a surprise, and yet, given the type of performance on display, it’s still very nice to see, regardless. Truly, she’s amongst our greats.

SCORE: ★★1/2