Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
New Wave veteran Alain Resnais makes a robust return to form with this tragi-comic study of longing and loneliness, transposing Alan Ayckbourn’s source play from London to a wintry Paris. Shot in a series of studio-bound interiors, Private Fears... comprises some 50 short scenes dissecting the interconnected and unfulfilled lives of six middle-aged characters. There’s an estate agent (Andre Dussollier) who lives with his younger sister and is drawn to his devout secretary (Sabine Azema); an engaged couple on the verge of calling it quits; and a sympathetic bartender (Pierre Arditi) saddled with a cantankerous dad. The theatrical, colour-coded sets, graceful camerawork and scene-bridging snowfall motif create a quasi-fairytale feel. But it’s the beautifully tuned ensemble acting that infuses this funny, sad treat with real humanist heft.
