Jodie Foster stars in the French language mystery thriller A Private Life as a Paris-based psychoanalyst whose life takes a dark turn after the sudden death of one of her patients.
Also starring in the movie are Daniel Auteuil, Matthieu Amalric, Vincent Lacoste and Luana Bajrami.
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, the film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, followed by its North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, and screenings at the New York Film Festival . It is slated to open in US cinemas on January 16, 2026, after a limited qualifying run starting in early December 2025.
A Private Life is a frisky, feminine, film noir about psychoanalysis and many other things… Jodie Foster stars as renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner, deeply troubled by the sudden death of one of her patients. Convinced that it was murder, she decides to investigate.
In an interview, Jodie Foster addressed her perfect French in the film, and how it influenced her decision to take the role, saying, “But yes, it’s true, I’d been wanting to do a French film for a long time – with a French director, shot entirely in French, and not something that felt like an imitation of an American movie, or worse, a U.S. co-production. I was looking for a film with a more modest tone, one that engaged with ideas, the life of the mind.”
Early reviews have been largely favorable. The Guardian calls it a “sly psychological mystery” writing, “Rebecca Zlotowski serves up a genial, preposterous psychological mystery caper: the tale of an American psychoanalyst in Paris, watchably played by Jodie Foster in elegant French.”
Watch the trailer for A Private Life above.
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