← Back to Directory
A Private Life
Movie

A Private Life

2025 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

Following the death of Paula, one of her long-time patients, psychiatrist Lilian Steiner becomes convinced that her supposed death by suicide is actually an unsolved murder.

Overall Series Review

The film focuses on Lilian Steiner, an American psychoanalyst in Paris, as she conducts her own eccentric investigation into the mysterious death of a patient. The narrative is a tonal mix of a murder mystery, black comedy, and a drama about the reunion with her ex-husband. Lilian is portrayed as a neurotic, insecure professional who is a mess in her personal life, not an idealized figure. The central emotional anchor is the rekindled, mature romantic connection with her ex-husband, who assists her investigation. The story explores themes of grief, self-realization, and the nature of professional detachment. The movie is strongly rooted in the Parisian setting and family dynamics, with only brief, surreal detours into a past-life regression and spiritual/cultural themes. The movie is a character piece that uses the mystery as a catalyst for the protagonist's emotional and psychological journey.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The story centers on a psychological thriller and a midlife romantic rekindling, not a lecture on systemic oppression. Characters are defined by their flaws and relationships. The cast is authentically placed within a French bourgeois setting. The narrative includes a brief concern with antisemitism in a historical context, which is a vilification of bigotry, not 'whiteness' itself.

Oikophobia1/10

The film's setting is a warm, celebratory depiction of the Parisian bourgeoisie, with scenes showing polished, traditional French architecture and atmosphere. The main plot is resolved by the protagonist reconnecting with her institutions: her ex-husband, her estranged son, and her professional self. There is no deconstruction of Western heritage or framing of the home culture as fundamentally corrupt.

Feminism3/10

The main female lead, Lilian Steiner, is a highly flawed and vulnerable character, depicted as a chain-smoker, drinker, and emotionally detached, which directly counters the 'perfect Girl Boss' trope. The most vital relationship is the complementary one with her ex-husband, Daniel Auteuil, who is portrayed as affectionate and grounding, countering the emasculation of males. Her professional career does not provide ultimate fulfillment, as she is forced to confront her emotional failures as a mother and wife.

LGBTQ+2/10

The primary romantic and complementary relationship explored is the heterosexual pairing between Lilian and her ex-husband Gabriel. The plot contains one surreal, hypnotherapy-induced past-life dream where Lilian and her female patient are lovers, but this remains a non-realistic plot device and does not center an alternative sexual ideology in the main narrative. The nuclear family structure (or its dissolution and remarriage) is the main focus of the emotional drama.

Anti-Theism3/10

The story does not feature the vilification of Christianity or traditional religion. It engages with spiritual themes via the Jewish concept of the dybbuk and a hypnotic past-life regression. The protagonist's personal crisis leads her to question her psychiatric practice and embrace non-traditional or surreal elements, positioning her outside of a strict transcendent morality but not within an anti-theistic framework.