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| Still from Vie Privee - Jodie Foster |
Described as a "gently comic murder mystery", Vie Privee is more absurdist than funny and somewhat muddled in the construction of the parts that form the storyline. With the well established and experienced principal actors (being Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Mathieu Almaric and Virginie Elfira) and a half decent story idea, it's surprising the film comes across as patently serious and misses most of the comedic elements, if there are any.
In terms of the story, psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster) is annoyed that her patient of the past nine years, Paula (Virginie Efira) has failed to appear for her sessions. She is horrified to learn her patient is dead and becomes convinced that Paula's husband (Mathieu Almaric) has murdered Paula. She seeks guidance from a hypnotist and engages her ex-husband (Daniel Auteil) to help investigate her theory.
Jodie Foster is a very experienced French speaker although she has appeared in a very small number of French language films. Her intensity of presence however is not one that lends itself easily to comedy. Likewise the script does not provide much in the way of comedic relief and only Daniel Auteuil's character has softer dialogue. In general the characters appear more neurotic than amusing throughout the film.
Evaluation:
Production values: 9/10
Narrative and direction: 6/10
Cast: 8/10
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