Rebecca Zlotowski’s comic psychodrama features Jodie Foster at her best. Foster plays Lilian Steiner, an American psychiatrist who lives and works in Paris. When a longtime patient dies from an overdose of pharmaceuticals, Steiner is shocked and distressed. She comes to suspect foul play, but who’s the killer? Is it Valérie (Luàna Bajrami-Rahmani), her patient’s daughter? Is it Simon (Mathieu Amalric), her husband? There’s no shortage of unusual facts surrounding the death, but are they genuine evidence, or is Steiner just paranoid?
Foster balances restraint and intensity beautifully throughout the film — a rare and precious gift for an actor — and she uses every bit of her talent to dramatize the role of a shrink who can’t recognize their own neuroses. Amalric and Bajrami-Rahmani are stellar, as is Daniel Auteuil as Lillian’s ex-husband and Virginie Efira as Steiner’s patient Paula. Zlotowski’s film expertly combines the amusements of satire with the pleasures of a good mystery thriller.
Supported by
Rebecca Zlotowski
Jodie Foster, Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, Daniel Auteuil, Vincent Lacoste, Luàna Bajrami
France
2025
In English and French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits
Executive Producer
Albert Blasius
Producer
Frédéric Jouve
Screenwriter
Anne Berest
Cinematography
George Lechaptois
Editor
Géraldine Mangenot
Production Design
Katia Wyszkop
Original Music
Robin Coudert
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