Private Life is the funniest film I have seen so far in 2018. This painfully hilarious new movie, which just debuted on Netflix, is the work of writer/director Tamara Jenkins (1998’s The Slums of Beverly Hills, 2007’s The Savages), and it’s an absolute crime for cinema lovers that it takes this long for her to get projects made.
There are so many amazing lines of dialogue in this expertly-modulated piece, which swings back and forth between dark, satirical comedy and straight-ahead emotional drama, with an overall tone that can be best described as one thing: true to life and filled with rich complexities that define us as people.
The fantastic duo of Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn star as an emotionally and financially stressed-out couple who, in their mid-to-late 40’s, are trying to have a child – by any means necessary.
Going through costly and painful IVF procedures while also applying for the right to adopt, these two people have completely disregarded everything about themselves as individuals (to say nothing of themselves as a couple) in order to fulfill their quest for a kid – something that clearly has grabbed many people in the real world and shaken them up.
Seeing a bit of you reflected in another person is a magical moment; everyone deserves the chance to experience that.
Jenkins dares to find humor in one of life’s most painful issues – the struggle to conceive and the potential knowledge of knowing that all of your efforts will be for not. Anyone who has personally gone through any sort of ordeal while trying to grow a family will be affected by this film; I know I certainly was, and not just because my wife and I went through our own issues when we tried to start our own.
It’s because Jenkins presents everything with such a universal sense of humanity that this film will register with nearly anyone who experiences it. And it’s nearly pointless to state just how sharp both Hahn and Giamatti are – they are perfectly in tune with the script’s POV and tone of voice.
Stylishly shot by Christos Voudouris and cut with sublime fluidity by Brian A. Kates, Private Life also benefits from some moody and eclectic musical choices on the soundtrack and a great supporting turn from Kayli Carter, and I love how Jenkins pokes gentle fun at “new-New York” and all of the elements that make up the city’s rapidly changing societal landscape. And then comes the film’s dynamite closing shot, which continues over the credits.
Review by Nick Clement
Private Life
Summary
A total wowser on both an emotional and narrative level, and I can think of no better way for Jenkins to have ended this sad yet oddly hopeful and consistently humorous story of people trying to make sense of the world they inhabit.
