Private Life

2018 drama

Rating: 15/20

Plot: A couple in their forties try various ways to get themselves a kid. A step-niece might be the answer!

Here's what is most amazing about this movie--as good as Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti are in this, neophyte Kayli Carter in her first movie comes in and more than holds her own. She really gets beneath the skin of her character and really nails both the confusion and excitement of the character in her particular situation. She's playful and she's scared and she's empathetic and she's sad in just the right amounts.

Hahn and Giamatti really are good. The latter even gets a shot at some physical comedy, and he nails it, most obviously in an early scene that involves some pornographic material. Hahn's terrific, doing all sorts of subtle things with her face and body language to define this character. Really, the pair do a great job creating a single character--a married couple who are part of the same team but not really together. I'm not sure how much rehearsal went into working on their body language in the scenes they're in together, but they paint this picture of this couple who probably aren't as hopeful as they want to believe they are and do a terrible job of hiding their frustration.

Oh, and you know who else can really act? Molly Shannon! A spin-off movie where we get to explore that character a little more wouldn't be a terrible idea.

This is one of Netflix's better film offerings. Tamara Jenkins, whose only other two films are Slums of Beverly Hills and The Savages for some reason, wrote and directed this, and like those other two movies, she's created these characters in difficult situations. There's some humor because there has to be. One needs humor in order to wade through the absurdity. There are also all these clever little touches. So many shots look ironically pre- or post-coital.

And that ending! It reminded me of the ending of another 2018 movie, but I wouldn't want to mention which one for fear of spoiling this movie or that one. I like endings that are bound to piss off a large percentage of the viewing population, and this one has the potential to do that.

This reminds me of good Woody Allen, and if that's the sort of drama with light comedic touches that appeals to you or if you like Jenkins other two movies (seriously--only two?), then you should check this out.