Skip to main content

Dome Pondering Movie Review: Private Life (2018)


What is it about?

A couple struggling with fertility go to great lengths, even at the risk of their marriage.
Who is in it?

Kathryn Hahn - Rachel

Paul Giamatti - Richard


Favorite Scene:

Rachel storms around the house in the middle of a tirade, does so pants-less, and then goes and scrubs the tub in the bathroom.

Favorite Quote:

Sadie: Oh, my God, look at us. We're like an ad for assholes.

Rachel Biegler: You mean we're assholes, or we're part of an ad that's targeted to assholes?

Sadie: No, it's just that whole... people with cappuccinos in their lofts, with their laptops, dogs, with messy hair. You know, that whole fantasy. It's not your fault. You guys are authentic and real, you've just been co-opted by cultural mechanisms that create desirability. I took a media and consumer society course. It was pretty life-altering.

Review:

It's films like Private Life that make you really appreciate Netflix and the original content they produce. This film is absolutely fantastic on so many fronts and in so many ways, most noticeably, the focus it places on infertility, and the many aspects surrounding it.

Private Life is a fantastic tragedy. The film lets you in on the struggles and strains that come along with infertility, especially on the scope a person's marriage in trying to conceive. From the drugs, the discussions, the hope, and pitfalls - all of it felt like a surreal education into a life many overlook or are blessed to not have experienced.

Hahn and Giamatti - as always! - are absolutely fantastic. The film progress continues to will you to root for this couple who have gone to so many lengths just to have a child together.

Private Life is fantastic. If you want a film that is artistic, informative, entertaining, profound and very funny - this is it.

Grade: 4.5/5

Recently Read

Dear Son, Big Fan of the Kid Turning Seven

---7 Years Old --- Dear Son,  It’s been a while since I’ve dropped a few thoughts. Forgive me, I’ve just been watching. Just observing. Taking it all in. Trying to be a good dad. I’m punching the keys today from one of your martial arts practices. It’s your second with “the big kids” and also the second time I’ve found myself watching from the sidelines with anxiety, with pride, and with likely my biggest fandom for you yet in this space. My feelings are much more than you playing baseball or coaching you in basketball. Your disposition is different. Your excellence is different in this space. With martial arts, you stay diligent with the process. Respectful. Working hard. Getting better. In competition with and respecting the older kids you are training with. That’s what I’ve enjoyed. It encapsulates everything you’ve grown into thus far. Still empathetic as ever, but adding an element of self-ambition and drive - something I’ve prided myself on - and to see you mature into this m...

Working in Higher Ed, Lately

"Working in higher education must be interesting these days, huh?" That question was posed to me by several people who recently learned that I worked in higher education. The recent discourse around the industry and field has certainly shifted in narrative and the overall feel within it. I recently wrapped up my fourteenth (!!) academic year. It's remarkable to think that I've been serving students and following a passion for this long. This is especially the case considering the rising turnover, the documented yearly burnout, and the increasing exodus from the field.  And, yup, there is that whole enrollment cliff combined with the politics that are more present than ever on college campuses.  So yeah, higher education is weird right now. Very weird.  Some quick thoughts : IS IT TIME?  Yes, I have thought about leaving the field several times. Especially, over the last few years. COVID didn't really bother me, but it's safe to say that the world of higher edu...

Quick Ponder: Future Self

We always think,  what would we say  to our  younger self? However,  what would  our younger self say  if they met us, today?