Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Richard and Rachel, a couple in the throes of infertility, try to maintain their marriage as they descend deeper and deeper into the insular world of assisted reproduction and domestic adoption.
Private Life is anchored by exceptional performances from Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn, who bring raw, lived-in authenticity to a couple navigating the exhausting emotional terrain of infertility treatments and adoption attempts. Tamara Jenkins' script is sharply observed and darkly funny, though the narrative can feel episodic and occasionally meandering. Cinematography is competent and intimate but unremarkable. The subject matter—infertility and its toll on a relationship—is handled with more honesty and specificity than most films tackle it, giving it a modest novelty edge, though the domestic drama framework is familiar. The ending is quietly resonant rather than dramatically satisfying, fitting the film's low-key realism but leaving some threads unresolved.