A Private Life 2025

Dr. Lilian Steiner Jodie Foster is a Jewish‑American psychiatrist practicing from her Paris home, tending to a diverse and increasingly tangled caseload. Her patient Pierre [Noam Morgensztern] is the first to set off a cascade of trouble when he finally quits smoking and, citing a hypnotist, threatens Lilian with a lawsuit for years of therapy that yielded little change. Shortly after, another patient, Paula [Virginie Efira], dies, and her daughter Valérie [Luàna Bajrami] asks Lilian to join the family for shemira, only for Paula’s husband Simon [Mathieu Amalric] to demand that Lilian stay away.

Lilian’s life is further complicated by a tense relationship with her son Julien [Vincent Lacoste], who helps her order cassettes for the MiniDisc recorder she uses to document each session. A persistent, uncharacteristic tearing sensation drives Lilian to contact her ex‑husband, Gabriel [Daniel Auteuil], an ophthalmologist. Valérie reveals that Paula died by suicide with pills Lilian had prescribed and gives Lilian Paula’s prescription, along with a cryptic message found in Paula’s hand.

Growing exasperated by the tears she sees in herself, Lilian seeks out the hypnotist who has been central to Pierre’s case. What begins as skepticism becomes a surreal plunge into hypnotherapy. In a startling vision, Lilian imagines herself as a male Jewish cellist performing in Nazi‑occupied Paris, where Paula is a fellow musician and Lilian’s pregnant mistress, while Simon conducts them and is armed with a gun. The hypnotist proclaims Lilian cured and refuses payment, but Lilian questions whether she has fallen for an antisemitic joke.

The hypnosis deepens Lilian’s unease as she revisits Paula’s burial and recalls Paula’s fear that her daughter would kill her if she learned Simon was not her biological father. A drunken night with Gabriel leads Lilian to doubt Paula’s intent and murder, even as Valérie’s possible involvement begins to loom large. Harassment follows: anonymous calls, vandalism, and Lilian’s office ransacked, with a missing cassette from Paula’s final session fueling her suspicions.

After a fruitless visit to the police, Lilian begins to suspect Simon of foul play. Valérie explains that Paula recently inherited a substantial amount from her late aunt Pearl [Aurore Clément], a fortune now shared between Valérie and Simon. The couple’s deception becomes clearer when Lilian and Gabriel uncover that Paula’s prescription was doctored and that Simon himself delivered it to the pharmacy. They intercept a package that reveals Simon ordered a women’s hair iron after Paula’s death, and Lilian starts digging into Pearl’s life for more answers.

When the hypnotist refuses further sessions, Lilian turns to her own former psychiatrist for perspective. The psychiatrist suggests Lilian’s guilt over deviating from protocol to prescribe Paula’s pills may be at the root of her distress. Returning to the hypnotic vision, Pearl is shown as a wealthy patron and Julien as a Milice member; in that dream, Simon shoots Paula before Lilian is instructed to flee to Chérence. Awakening, Lilian heads to Chérence, finding Simon living with another woman and stealing a hairbrush from their trash.

Over dinner with Julien, Lilian tells Gabriel that she believes Simon killed Pearl and Paula to secure the inheritance, a claim that unsettles everyone — especially Julien, who is already distressed by his parents’ renewed bond. Gabriel drives Lilian to Chérence, posing as a stranded motorist to distract Simon while Lilian searches in vain for Paula’s missing cassette. A last‑ditch interruption by Simon’s lover’s young son leads Lilian to employ the hypnotist’s technique, convincing the boy that he is dreaming and enabling their escape with Gabriel.

Pierre later confesses his role in the anonymous calls and vandalism, having broken into Lilian’s office to steal his own cassettes; Lilian declines to press charges. She returns home only to face Simon, who accuses her of being responsible for Paula’s death and leaves behind the missing cassette, without offering a clear explanation of who stole it. Listening to Paula and Simon’s final session, Lilian discovers that Paula herself altered her prescription and used the medication to poison Pearl. The guilt drives Paula to take her own life, but the truth finally surfaces.

In the end, Lilian reconciles with Julien and remains close to Gabriel. She rebuilds her practice, yet chooses not to record sessions with patients anymore, focusing instead on truly listening to them. The case closes with Lilian recommitted to her patients in a different, more grounded way, guided by a deeper sense of responsibility and connection.