A Private Life: Beneath the Mind, When Certainty Starts to Crack

A Movie Review by Marc Primo

A Different Kind of Paris Story

Paris often appears on screen as a place of beauty and indulgence, but in A Private Life, the city feels muted and restrained, mirroring the inner world of its central figure. The story follows Lillian, an American psychiatrist whose life is defined by routine, emotional control, and professional distance. When she learns that one of her patients, Paula, has died by suicide, the loss refuses to remain contained. What should be a tragic but explainable event begins to unsettle Lillian, planting a thought she cannot dismiss: what if Paula did not choose to die?

A Professional Unraveling

Before Lillian can fully process her guilt, her carefully ordered life starts to fracture. Pierre, another patient, confronts her in a fury, accusing her of years of ineffective treatment and claiming that a single visit to a hypnotist accomplished what she never could. At the same time, her strained relationship with her son, Julien, weighs heavily on her. Once emotionally impenetrable, Lillian now finds herself overwhelmed by sudden tears, as if the discipline she relied on for years is no longer holding.

Obsession Disguised as Investigation

What begins as concern turns into fixation. Lillian immerses herself in Paula’s past, pursuing theories with unwavering focus while rarely questioning her own judgment. The search feels less about justice and more about self-preservation. With the involvement of her ex-husband, Gabriel, long-buried emotional fractures resurface. As her investigation deepens, it becomes increasingly clear that Lillian is not only searching for answers about Paula but seeking reassurance about her own worth.

Hypnosis, Memory, and Self-Deception

Eventually, Lillian turns to the hypnotist who altered Pierre’s life, entering psychological territory she once dismissed outright. Guided through memories that span from the earliest moments of existence to a past life as a cellist, one intertwined with Paula, she experiences temporary emotional relief. Yet this calm comes at a cost. The very process she doubts becomes fuel for her theories, forcing her to question whether she is uncovering truth or reshaping reality to protect herself.

A Portrait of Guarded Vulnerability

Lillian is presented as controlled, resistant, and quietly fragile. Her exterior projects authority and certainty, but beneath it lie fear of failure, emotional exposure, and the possibility of being fundamentally wrong. The defenses she built over the years begin to erode as doubt seeps in. Vulnerability emerges not through dramatic displays but through silence, hesitation, and restraint, forming a nuanced portrait of a woman losing her grip on certainty.

Questions Without Comfort

At its core, A Private Life reflects on belief, projection, and the human need for answers. It navigates the tension between logic and spirituality without offering easy conclusions. Several ideas remain intentionally unresolved, inviting viewers to sit with discomfort rather than clarity. While the search for definitive answers may feel incomplete, the film’s strength lies in its introspective depth. As a character study, it lingers, suggesting that the most unsettling mystery is not what happened, but why certainty matters so much in the first place.