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Private Life is a 2018 American comedy-drama film directed by Tamara Jenkins. The movie follows a couple named Richard (Paul Giamatti) and Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) who have been trying to have a baby through various fertility treatments for years. They are in their forties and time is running out for them. The movie depicts their journey as they navigate through the emotional and financial struggles of infertility treatments.

Richard is a struggling playwright who runs a small theater company in New York. Rachel is an editor at a literary company who works from home. They live in a small apartment in Manhattan and are very much in love. However, their love hasn't been enough to overcome the emotional toll of their fertility struggles. They are both frustrated and have been trying different treatments, including IVF, with little success. They are not ready to give up on their dream of having a baby and continue to pursue different treatment options.

The movie shows the couple's interactions with their fertility doctor, played by Denis O'Hare, and their young niece, Sadie (played by Kayli Carter), who is staying with them temporarily while she figures things out. Sadie will become a surrogate mother for them. Their relationship with Sadie is complicated as she is unsure about her own future and doesn't want to upset her own life for someone else's dreams.

Throughout the movie, the challenges that Richard and Rachel face are poignant and relatable. The film explores the couple's relationship in depth, as they are forced to confront the limits of their love and the difficulties that come with growing older.

As the couple becomes more desperate in their quest for a baby, tensions between them escalate. They argue about money, their jobs, and their own inadequacies. Richard feels as if he is not good enough as a husband, while Rachel is tortured by guilt about taking a break from work to focus on having a baby.

The movie's script is impressively authentic and insightful, offering the audience glimpses into the inner lives of the couple. The dialogue is beautifully written, with a lot of humor and heart. The performances are remarkably nuanced, particularly those of Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti. Hahn gives a complex and emotionally charged performance, conveying the desperation and heartbreak of Rachel's character. Giamatti brings his natural wit to Richard, while also conveying the vulnerability and sadness beneath his character's facade.

The movie also highlights the impact that infertility has on a couple's sex life. The pressure and the emotional toll of trying to conceive weight heavily on the characters, and the movie portrays this in a compelling way. The film explores the theme of infertility from different angles, challenging conventional ideas about what it means to be a woman, a man, and a couple.

The movie is visually stunning and Director Tamara Jenkins makes excellent use of New York City settings to enhance the story. The camera work is intimate and the music serves to complement the movie's themes.

What makes Private Life special is its honesty and relatability. The movie doesn't shy away from the difficult, messy aspects of the couple's journey, nor does it idealize the journey to parenthood or diminish the experience of those who are struggling to conceive. The story is touching, intimate and proves to be a vérité-style movie that takes an honest and sensitive look at the infertility journey. It is a must-watch for anyone hoping to start a family or anyone who has ever felt the pang of unfulfilled dreams.

Private Life is a 2018 drama with a runtime of 2 hours and 3 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.2 and a MetaScore of 83.