☛ Cette critique est aussi disponible en français [➦].

Translated by Gabrielle Baillargeon-Michaud. 

After relocating to New York to pursue their shared ambition of earning a living from playwriting, Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) and Richard (Paul Giamatti), a couple in their forties, take on the challenge of conceiving  at their age, facing a series of deeply disheartening attempts.

American director Tamara Jenkins (The Savages, Slums of Beverly Hills) presents her latest project, informed by her personal experiences with the struggles of procreation, the protracted adoption process, and the illusory promises of in vitro fertilization.

Jenkins’s film masterfully captures the evolution of the desire to have a child into an all-consuming obsession. She adopts a compassionate approach to a process that is typically fraught with fear, uncertainty, and demands relentless perseverance. The fertility sector is portrayed as a bona fide industry, marked by chilling detachment and dubious ethical standards. When Richard’s half-niece comes forward to donate her eggs, Jenkins exposes the severe, and occasionally abusive, treatment some may endure at the hands of fertility specialists.

Several scenes, often tinged with painful humour, resemble the high-stakes and rapid decisions typical of drug trafficking, emphasizing the exorbitant costs and the urgency to seize every available opportunity. Rachel and Richard’s family even liken them to “fertility junkies.”

Yet, Tamara Jenkins, the director of Private Life, skillfully oscillates between hope and despair, demonstrating empathy through understated staging and a script that is both fluid and sharp. The film serves as a poignant homage to all couples for whom the pursuit of pregnancy becomes the trial of a lifetime.

Reference 

Director/creator : Tamara Jenkins
Title : Vie Privée (Private Life)
Release Date : 2018
This movie is available on Netflix.