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
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
A. Rimbaud
Patrick Wang (The Bread Factory) presents the life of French poet Arthur Rimbaud in this staggeringly adventurous and deeply considered movie, a three-hour, one-man show quite unlike anything we have seen before. "Poetic, audacious and singular."
The 39 Steps
In our new film studies series, FRAMEWORK, film scholar Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock, across four monochrome masterworks. This week: The 39 Steps (1935), a witty and fast-moving spy thriller from Hitchcock's English period.
