Get Absorbed in Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamattis Private Life

By the beginning of Private Life, Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) and Richard (Paul Giamatti) have been trying to conceive a child for some time. Theyve tried in vitro. Theyve considered adoption, too, going so far as to spend a month having daily Skype chats with a pregnant teen mom who—without giving too much away—proves to be a letdown. Their marriage is, at least according to their in-laws, on its last legs. Their finances are even worse off: A procedure undergone in the movies opening minutes costs them $10,000 on the spot. At this point in their pregnancy journey, they of course have to borrow those funds; the procedure fails.

Whats the problem? Maybe its Richards one testicle—or even male menopause. Maybe its Rachels eggs. Maybe—frankly—its the stress of constantly veering into dashed expectations and plummeting disappointment. But the root cause of the couples inability to conceive isnt really what writer-director Tamara Jenkins wants to interrogate. The impact of it is what her film explores, generously, honestly, with dashes of wisdom and humor—the ways it pushes this man and woman together and apart, ripping new seams in their marriage even as it repairs the old ones.

Its a movie about, among other things, middle age, and the dwindling supply of high hopes it brings. Its also about a couple reconsidering whether the ways theyve gone about making those dreams real have been worth the struggle—something that comes across early on, when a scene showing Rachel getting a harsh hormone shot in her rear end ends with a visual punchline thatll make you wince: a bottle full of discarded needles. Other signs stack up, too: the bruises on Rachels belly, the bags under the couples eyes, the relatively minimal amount of conversation or interaction devoted to anything but trying to conceive. (Hence their sister-in-law, played by Molly Shannon, stubbornly calling them “pregnancy junkies.”)

Sounds bleak! And from the start, Private Life often looks the part: snowy, lonely, stark. But theres warmth here, and humor, too—I promise. Its just not totally apparent at first, because Jenkins makes you work for it. Sure, shell give you hearty one-shot laughs, like a quick glimpse of Richard and Rachel holding ice packs over their genitals, or lovely moments of misapprehension, such as when Rachels confession to a friend that shes “cycling” is met with, “Oh my God—Soul Cycle?” At their best, these moments only seem to push the couple further inward. Theyre strangely alienating, maybe because even as we, in the audience, can afford to laugh, Richard and Rachel cannot.

Things shift somewhat when the couple realizes they have an option in their niece, Sadie (Kayli Carter). Shes an outspoken, smart underachiever who thinks of Richard and Rachel—despite everything we know about them so far—as her cool aunt and uncle. When Sadie volunteers to donate an egg, things in the movie shift, and a new chasm opens, to frequently extraordinary effect. She moves into their home; she starts taking the shots; she realizes this is probably the first adult thing shes ever done. The irony here is clear, and dispiriting. Theres something called youth—and Richard and Rachel no longer have it.

The movie—streamable on Netflix as of Friday—is Jenkinss first in 10 years (the last one, The Savages, earned her an Oscar nomination). Its been too long. And in many ways, Private Life does its part to make up for lost time. Jenkinss talent for everyday doses of acid and irony is here. Her movies arent comedies, and because I hate the term, I wont call them dramedies. I think theyre what naturally occurs when people are forced to be realistic about their circumstances. Things work out or they dont; you get through them or you dont. You laugh about it, or . . .

Hahn and Giamatti are, it should be said, a sterling central couple: tired but not haggard, hopeful but not naive, conflicted and complicated without being showboaty or soapy. Supporting players Shannon and John Carroll Lynch are equally sharp and, frankly, under-used. Still, theyre more than side-characters; their own marriage, and the natural dissatisfaction arising within it, poses a deceptively simple contrast with the main pairs. Their presiding purpose may be to prove that no marriage is perfect, and that no middle age–dom is entirely happy, but Jenkins, too smart to leave it there, uses them to give the entire movie unexpected color.

I saw the movie at the New York Film Festival, with an older New York–y crowd that was in love with every humble comedic gag and jittery plot pivot. Outside that context, the movie is still a fun watch, even as it frequently verges on being devastating. Jenkins can find the humor and bleached-out irony in something as sterile as a hospitals oppressively white walls—its a true talent. Lets not wait another decade to get more of it.

Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Eight Times Christian Bale Totally Transformed for a Movie Role

Velvet Goldmine

Bale morphed into a svelte glam-rock fan, playing a journalist recounting the life and times of Brian Slade (a David Bowie-inspired character played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers).Photo: From Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock.

American Psycho

This was the part that took Bale from promising young star to leading man with range. He bulked up (making his first of many hard-core ripped transformations) to play murderous banker Patrick Bateman, showing off his hard work in the films indelible morning-routine scene.Photo: From ©Lions Gate/Everett Collection.

The Machinist

Perhaps the most famous of all Bale transformations is his role as a sleepless industrial worker in the 2004 film The Machinist. In order to whittle himself down to a startling 120 pounds, he came up with the “absolutely brilliant method of just smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey to lose weight.” Please dont try this at home.Photo: From © Paramount Classics/Everett Collection.

Batman Begins

Naturally, Bale followed The Machinist by playing bulky billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolans Batman Begins. After whittling his body down, he began working out like crazy, piling on muscle so he could get into real superhero shape.Photo: By Ron Phillips/©Warner Bros./Everett Collection.

The Fighter

In this David O. Russell drama, Bale took on the role of welterweight fighter-turned-lanky crack-cocaine addict Dicky Eklund. He took a different approach from his Machinist days by losing weight without focusing too much on the scale, and letting the makeup team work their magic for the rest. It was this wiry transformation that finally earned Bale his first acting Oscar.Photo: By JoJo Whilden/©Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection.

American Hustle

In order to play con artist Irving Rosenfeld in David O. Russells 1970s-set drama, Bale cut off his hair, grew out his facial hair, and gained about 43 pounds, using the tried-and-true method of eating whatever he wanted. “I ate lots of doughnuts, a whole lot of cheeseburgers, and whatever I could get my hands on,” he once said. His reward? A best-actor Oscar nomination.Photo: By Francois Duhamel/©Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection.

Vice

Heres his latest chilling transformation. In Adam McKays upcoming drama, Bale plays former vice president Dick Cheney. How on Earth did he make this unlikely metamorphosis, to play Cheney at two very different ages? By shaving his head, bleaching his brows, and gaining 40 pounds—and focusing on special exercises that would thicken his neck. Watch the trailer, and shudder in fear.Photo: By Greig Fraser/Annapurna Pictures.PreviousNext