Private Life

Movie Name: Private Life
Year of Release: 2018

Director: Tamara Jenkins

Stars: Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch, Denis O'Hare, Kayli Carter, Emily Robinson, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Desmin Borges

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis & Review:

In the three decades that she's been working, director Tamara Jenkins has delivered three features. "Private Life", which Netflix just released (October of 2018) is the third, following the fantastic "The Savages" (released in 2007) and the equally great "Slums of Beverly Hills", which was her feature directorial debut (from 1998). "Private Life" tracks the life of couple Richard and Rachel, who are in the throws of trying to conceive. They've tried the adoption path, which proved unsuccessful and time consuming, and we find them in the middle of trying to go through with IVF. The process is painful, expensive, and causes stress on both of them. They've been together for a while, but waited to have children, in order to accomplish certain milestones in their professional careers. Additional challenges occur when Richard has some health issues, but they finally get a shot of some optimism, when their step niece agrees to donate one of her eggs to be fertilized. That unfortunately throws a wrench into their family dynamics, particularly with Richard's sister in law.
Tamara Jenkins' films have a way to draw complex family dynamics in ways that are arresting, dynamic and never quite the expected. "Private Life" is no exception - the central couple, clearly living comfortably in NY, are dealing with tremendous challenges as they're trying relentlessly to have a child, which in turn leaves them with almost no time to actually look at each other, and be supportive of each other. This challenge consumes and has consumed their entire existence, which is something that their extended family clearly notices. The director draws this microcosms of relationships really well, showcasing how Molly Shannon's character, Cynthia, is a voice of dissent, while Sadie, becomes a beacon of hope, but also another element of further contention. It's a film that is so focused in showcasing the characters single driven pursuit, that it forgets at times to showcase a bit more of these interesting characters (and pepper it with some humor), with Sadie actually becoming the more interesting one - she's the one who has diverse interests, who wants to pursue things, who wants to have a full life. The film veers at times into Woody Allen territories, particularly with the intellectual and arts centric couple of a certain age at the core of the action, but it retains its own heart and identity, as can be witnessed as the film comes to its closure. Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Shannon and John Carroll Lynch are all fantastic. A very good film from a very interesting director.