Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Given their tendencies to play neurotic misanthropes, it’s a wonder Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti have never played opposite each other before. The filmmaker Tamara Jenkins seems to always land brilliant cast; the writer and director of 2007’s The Savages starred Laura Linney and the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman as a pair of siblings looking after their aging father. An expert in observing the great heartbreaks of contemporary life, Jenkins’ long-awaited third feature (she also directed 1998’s Natasha Lyonne vehicle Slums of Beverly Hills) takes on yet another relatable and painful problem: Infertility.
“Having a baby is an immoral act. Overpopulation, climate change, rise of neo-fascism,” says Rachel (Hahn) in the trailer for Private Life, which premiered earlier this year to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. As Rachel and her husband Richard (Giamatti) cycle through their pregnancy options, the fear that they’ve waited too long looms overhead, threatening to taint their every life choice. Amidst all this, their niece Sadie (newcomer Kayli Carter) arrives to crash in their tiny apartment.
In his A- review of the film, IndieWire’s David Ehrlich called it “a hilarious, profanely bougie, and crushingly honest story.”
Private Life also stars Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch, and Denis O’Hare. You can view Private Life on Netflix and in select theaters on October 5. Check out the trailer above.
