Synopsis
Pascale leads a lonely life with her adult sons François and Thierry at a rural estate subsidized by her ex-husband's alimony payments. When Pascale falls for neighbor Jan , she makes plans to move in with him. But Pascale's twin sons -- loafers who treat her like a servant and refuse to accept the responsibilities of adulthood -- won't let her go. The family remains locked in a stalemate until someone makes a startling move.
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Cast
- Isabelle HuppertPascale
- Jérémie RenierThierry
- Yannick RenierFrançois
- Patrick DescampsLuc
- Kris CuppensJan
- Raphaëlle LubansuAnne
- Sabine RicheGerda
- Dirk TuypensDirk
- Catherine SaléeJan's friend
- Jean-Benoît UgeuxFriend of Thierry
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Sun-Times
What draws us into Private Property is how so many things happen under the surface, never commented upon. - 83
The A.V. Club
Like many French films of its kind, Private Property remains content to simply observe a situation without tidying up the narrative, which in this case leaves some big questions unanswered. But Lafosse knows that problems that beg for a resolution sometimes don't get one. - 80
Variety
Boasting a script so clear and airtight that shrinks could use it for family therapy courses, the sole caveat is the unrelenting unpleasantness of the stronger-willed son. - 80
The New York Times
Private Property embraces the banal and the monstrous, and affords Ms. Huppert opportunity to astonish rather than overwhelm. - 75
New York Post
Huppert is, as usual, superb, proving yet again that she is the finest actress working in France today. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Lafosse's razor sharp dissection of relationships strained to the breaking point is hypnotic in a road-accident kind of way. - 75
Chicago Tribune
Lafosse's frustrating, yet beautifully elegiac coda emphasizes the point that his production and storytelling style have been making throughout: Private Property is about processes, not conclusions. - 70
Chicago Reader
Isabelle Huppert gets a respite from her usual ice queen roles with this shattering psychological drama about the danger of children staying too long in the nest.
