Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

This weekend around Dallas features a nice array of events, including a visit from a multi-hyphenate author, the start of a fun fundraiser, three big-name concerts, laughs with a well-known comedian, closing day for a big art exhibition, and the annual celebration of a French holiday in Oak Cliff.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, July 11

DMA Arts & Letters Live: Elaine Welteroth
Elaine Welteroth is an award-winning journalist, author, judge on the new Project Runway, and the former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. She comes to Dallas to talk about her new memoir, More Than Enough, which unpacks the lessons she learned about race, identity, and success through her own journey. The event will take place at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Friday, July 12

Dallas CASA presents Parade of Playhouses
The 24th annual Dallas CASA Parade of Playhouses will feature 17 amazing children’s playhouses, including adorable campers, a food truck, an Apollo 11 space capsule, sweet cottages, and a lemonade stand. During the 17-day event, going on through July 28, raffle tickets for a chance to win a playhouse are sold online and at ticket tables throughout NorthPark Center. All proceeds benefit the abused children served by Dallas CASA.

Christopher Titus: Stories I Shouldn't Tell
Employing what he’s labeled "hard funny," Christopher Titus, star and creator of the Fox show, Titus, has released eight 90-minute albums in as many years. Known for leaving no stone unturned, especially within his own life and family, Titus takes his audience on a 90-minute ride that will leave them exhausted from laughter. He'll perform a one-night-only stand-up set at Texas Theatre.

The Head and The Heart in concert
Indie rock band The Head and The Heart may not be that well known among mainstream music fans, but they've carved out a nice niche in their chosen lane. They've scored three No. 1 hits on the Adult Alternative charts, including their most recent single, "Missed Connection," off their new album, Living Mirage. They'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving with opening act Hippo Campus.

Saturday, July 13

Michael McDonald & Chaka Khan in concert
Singer/songwriter Michael McDonald has had quite the career, starting as a member of both Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers before moving on to a highly successful solo career. One of the progenitors of the "yacht rock" genre, he's known for hits like "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" and "Sweet Freedom." He'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory with Chaka Khan.

Sunday, July 14

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Jonas Wood" closing day
The Dallas Museum of Art will bring to a close the first major solo museum exhibition of work by American painter Jonas Wood. Bringing together approximately 35 works across 13 years of Wood’s career, the exhibition traces the artist’s fascination with psychology, memory, and the self to shed light on a practice that is both deeply personal and universal.

Bastille on Bishop
Bastille on Bishop is an annual festival in the heart of the Bishop Arts District that celebrates Oak Cliff's unique French roots. Visitors can don their best berets and join friends for a little champagne and dancing in the streets. To consume alcoholic beverages at the festival, guests must have one of the event wine glasses, which come with two tokens, which can be redeemed for either beverages or food.

Khalid in concert with Clairo
In just two albums, R&B singer Khalid has vaulted himself to the top of the genre, thanks to hits like "Location," "Love Lies," and "Talk," many of which have been collaborations with other current top artists. His new album, Free Spirit, went straight to No. 1 and is an early contender for album of the year. He'll perform at American Airlines Center with opening act Clairo.

Rock The Yacht featuring Ambrosia, Stephen Bishop, and more
In what can't be a coincidence, the night after The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory welcomes the Yacht Rock king, they'll play host to a bunch of other singers who know a thing or two about the genre. Among the performers will be Ambrosia, Stephen Bishop, Player lead singer Peter Beckett, John Ford Coley, Albert Hammond, and Looking Glass.

Bastille on Bishop will take place in the Bishop Arts District on July 14.

Photo by Elliott Munoz

Bastille on Bishop will take place in the Bishop Arts District on July 14.

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Movie Review

Jodie Foster brings depth and wit to French thriller A Private Life

Photo by Georges Lechaptois

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Jodie Foster has been a member of the Hollywood community for almost 60 years, first as a child actor on TV, and then branching out into movies. She earned an Oscar nomination at the tender age of 14 for her role in Taxi Driver, and she’s gone on to be nominated five times, winning twice. Now, at age 63, she’s showing she’s still capable of surprises by fluently speaking another language in the French film, A Private Life.

Foster plays Lilian Steiner, a psychiatrist who sees patients out of her Parisian apartment. When she learns of the death of one of her patients, Paula (Virginie Efira), she’s sad but otherwise unaffected until a few suspicious things start happening. This includes the robbery of her apartment, in which a recording of Paula’s last session with Lilian goes missing.

With the help of her ex-husband, Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil), Lilian becomes an amateur private detective, tracking the movements of Paula’s husband, Simon (Mathieu Amalric), whom she increasingly suspects of murder. At the same time, Lilian must navigate a tense relationship with her son, Julien (Vincent Lacoste), along with an unexpected rekindling of romance with Gabriel.

Written and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, and co-written by Anne Berest, it is a psychological thriller that at times feels like an Inspector Clouseau movie. With little to go on but her own perhaps misguided suspicions, Lilian digs herself deeper into a situation of her own making. And she further clouds her mind by indulging in a tryst with Gabriel, who’s all too eager to help Lilian pursue her criminal theories. While the film is not a comedy, there are elements of humor that pop in to keep the story light.

Zlotowski plays with the competing tones of the story well, keeping viewers on Lilian’s side even as she indulges in things that might not be the healthiest for her. Lilian’s various eccentricities - an adherence to recording on old-fashioned mini discs instead of fully digital, keeping an emotional distance from her son and grandson - make her a fascinating character whose vacillating motivations keep viewers guessing as to what she’ll do next.

In a lot of ways, the film is a study of how Lilian needs to try to find ways to heal herself. The possibility of Paula being murdered wakes Lilian up to the idea that she has not been as attentive a doctor as she should be. The sessions with different patients that Zlotowski shows give the impression that there’s a general level of dissatisfaction with her, with one patient outright breaking up with her.

Foster is no less compelling speaking mostly in French than she is in English language movies. Her fluency is never in doubt, and she fits in seamlessly with the actual French actors in the film. Auteuil is a fun counterpart for Foster, showing an unexpected chemistry with her that keeps their scenes crackling with energy. Amalric, a Wes Anderson favorite, has a relatively small role but still stands out when he gets a chance.

A Private Life is not the type of thriller that American audiences might be used to, but its slow, methodical storytelling and subtle humor make it an interesting watch from beginning to end. The film is not up for any awards, but Foster’s performance shows she remains a top-tier actor.

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A Private Life is now playing in select theaters.

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