Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- offbeat
- melancholic
- reflective evening
- adult date night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film emotionally ambitious and well acted, especially praising Robin Wright's performance, while considering its shifting moods and revelations uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Pippa narrates her present dislocation through long flashbacks covering her childhood, countercultural adolescence, and relationship with Herb.
Pippa appears settled as a wife and mother while sleepwalking, estranging her daughter, and confronting the sacrifices embedded in her marriage.
The retirement community and Pippa's family life provide settings for satire alongside darker revelations and emotional breakdowns.
Pippa's hippie adolescence and late-1960s atmosphere continue to shape her adult choices, guilt, and self-conception.
Films like The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, and why
The Hours
women-centered domestic drama blending romantic complications, self-reinvention, and bittersweet humor
Little Children
adult relationship drama with emotional repression, marriage tensions, and strong female performances
Enough Said
offbeat romantic drama about aging, desire, identity, and unconventional family dynamics
The Savages
darkly comic portrait of a woman reassessing marriage, motherhood, and personal freedom
Movie Details
- Director
- Rebecca Miller
- Release Date
- 2009-07-07
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (237)
Cast
- Robin Wright
- Alan Arkin
- Keanu Reeves
- Julianne Moore
- Winona Ryder
- Mike Binder
- Cornel West
- Zoe Kazan
- Maria Bello
- Shirley Knight
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Private Lives of Pippa Lee about?
- A dislocated wife revisits her rebellious past while an unlikely new friendship challenges the carefully composed life she built around her marriage.
- What is The Private Lives of Pippa Lee like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Private Lives of Pippa Lee violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.
- What did critics think of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee?
- Critics broadly found the film emotionally ambitious and well acted, especially praising Robin Wright's performance, while considering its shifting moods and revelations uneven.
- Which films are like The Private Lives of Pippa Lee?
- Films with a similar feel include The Hours, Little Children, Enough Said, and The Savages.
- How long is The Private Lives of Pippa Lee?
- The Private Lives of Pippa Lee runs 98 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Private Lives of Pippa Lee?
- In United States, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee streams on fuboTV.
