A Private Life

Jodie Foster stars in her first French-language role as a psychiatrist in Paris who is determined to catch a killer.

Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster) is an American psychiatrist working in Paris who is experiencing a professional slump. One patient has missed three appointments in a row. Another has found a quick fix through a hypnotherapist, and isn't shy about calling his eight years with Lilian a waste of money.

When she learns that her absent patient is dead after an apparent suicide, Lilian suspects foul play.

Curator's note
Jodie Foster is back. Of course, she was never really gone, but as Foster has leaned into directing film and television, her appearances on screen became rare. The 2020s has seen a shift. After a starring role in True Detective and an Academy Award-nominated performance in Nyad, A Private Life now sees the actor take on her first French-language role.

A Private Life premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival where it screened out of competition. The film marks director Rebecca Zlotowski’s fourth premiere at the festival following Dear Prudence (2010), Grand Central (2013) and An Easy Girl (2019).