"Anatomy of a Fall" is a legal drama film co-written and directed by Justine Triet ("Age of Panic", "In Bed with Victoria", "Sibyl"). Starring Sandra Hüller in the lead role, it works as both a highly involving legal procedural and as an intriguing analysis of a family in crisis.
In Grenoble, France, married writers Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) and Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) live in a secluded cabin with their partially blind son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) and their dog Snoop. After walking Snoop one morning, Daniel returns home to discover Samuel's dead body at the bottom of the cabin near where the attic window is located. Shortly after, a police investigation is launched to determine whether Samuel's death was accidental or if foul play is suspected. When no other DNA evidence is found at the scene, Sandra finds herself accused of pushing Samuel out of the window and is soon forced to stand trial. As a lengthy legal battle ensues, Sandra vehemently maintains her innocence but various factors start to arise which only add to the confusion, taking a toll on her motherly relationship with Daniel in the process.
I can only imagine how it must feel to be accused of a crime you didn't commit. Even if you end up being acquitted of any wrongdoing, you still run the risk of carrying the heavy burden of false accusations for the rest of your life. This certainly isn't something I would wish on anybody unfortunate enough to land themselves in such a position, especially in this day and age where someone is usually guilty until proven innocent, instead of the other way around. The French film "Anatomy of a Fall" deals with one woman's struggle to clear her name in the aftermath of her husband's unexpected death, in a film that efficiently balances family drama with damning courtroom exchanges in a way that is bound to leave audiences entertained.
Where this film excels at predominantly is in the effective characterisation of its lead subject and those she interacts with. As the film introduces us to Sandra, we see that she is a writer whose growing reputation has led to her being interviewed by a local journalist at her home. However, as the journalist conducts this interview, Sandra's husband Samuel blasts loud music on repeat upstairs, to the point where the interview can no longer take place due to the blatant noise pollution. Instead of correcting this problem herself, Sandra instead brushes off her husband's actions as merely being part of his eccentric personality, asking the journalist to come back another time when Samuel is less disruptive. This opening scene confirms to the audience that Sandra and Samuel's marriage is a strange one, which later sets things in motion once Sandra is informed of Samuel's untimely death.
To complicate matters further for Sandra, her son Daniel's near-blindness makes him an unreliable asset for her to use in court. As the young Daniel tries desperately to recall the important events leading up to his father's death, the police find that they are unable to use much of his testimony to help Sandra in the long run. This is due to him giving conflicting reports over where he was located at the time, as being near-sighted prevents Daniel from confirming the precise spot where he first heard things taking place. It is from here we see all of the bizarre and sometimes sad events unfold that ultimately lands Sandra in legal trouble, as there is seemingly no hard evidence to prove she wasn't responsible for the death of her husband. Thanks to the way these moments are set up, I found myself heavily invested in what was going to happen to both Sandra and Daniel since it seemed like things could definitely go either way.
Despite clocking in at just over two-and-a-half hours (152 minutes to be precise), at no point was I ever bored watching how this entire court case was playing out. I believe we have director Justine Triet's consistent use of editing and her solid script to thank for all of that. Each time I thought I'd figured out everything there is to know about a certain character's actions, something else would come along to blow it all out of the water and add more intriguing layers to this mystery. To that effect, I really enjoyed assembling all the pieces of this puzzle together to gain a better understanding of how someone like Samuel could have died in the way he did. Triet clearly knows how to properly weave her audience along for the film's long duration without ever resorting to repetitive filler or scenes that go nowhere. Every bit of information conveyed to the viewer felt as though it could be considered important to the conclusion of the story, whether verbal or visual. With that in mind, it is important to pay attention to all of the conversations happening between the characters, no matter how insignificant they may seem on the surface.
In the lead role, Sandra Hüller proves herself to be a highly watchable actress, as I was hanging onto virtually everything she had to say. Hüller does a fine job expressing the various emotions necessary for her character, ranging from genuine shock at the sudden loss of her husband to remaining calm under pressure when being questioned in court. Something else noteworthy about Hüller's performance is the way she swaps between speaking English and French so seamlessly during the courtroom scenes, which is even more impressive considering her native language in real life is actually German. It's no easy feat to take the centre stage for a film like this, especially one with such a lengthy runtime, but Hüller pulls off this near impossible task each time she is on screen.
Additionally, I think Milo Machado Graner is worth mentioning too as Daniel, whose interactions with his onscreen mother provided some of the film's most emotional moments. Watching a young boy come to terms with not only losing his father but also dealing with the very real possibility that his mother could end up in jail framed for his murder must be nothing short of heartbreaking from his perspective. To top it all off, he also has the handicap of being almost completely blind and unable to help his mother if the absolute worst case scenario ends up happening. The combination of both Hüller and Graner's performances is one of the key reasons this film is so interesting to watch, and without giving away spoilers, it all amounts to a satisfying conclusion.
If you like legal dramas, family crisis stories, or layered crime mysteries, then I'm sure "Anatomy of a Fall" has you covered on all fronts. What could have been another generic crime flick is in fact one of the most involving films of its kind to be released in a long time. It's rare to see a film balance each of its different genres together in such a smooth fashion while also making 152 minutes go by so quickly. For those reasons alone, this film has not only achieved its goal, but it has opened the door for more like it in the future. At least I can remain hopeful that will end up happening.
I rate it a solid 9/10.
In Grenoble, France, married writers Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) and Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) live in a secluded cabin with their partially blind son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) and their dog Snoop. After walking Snoop one morning, Daniel returns home to discover Samuel's dead body at the bottom of the cabin near where the attic window is located. Shortly after, a police investigation is launched to determine whether Samuel's death was accidental or if foul play is suspected. When no other DNA evidence is found at the scene, Sandra finds herself accused of pushing Samuel out of the window and is soon forced to stand trial. As a lengthy legal battle ensues, Sandra vehemently maintains her innocence but various factors start to arise which only add to the confusion, taking a toll on her motherly relationship with Daniel in the process.
I can only imagine how it must feel to be accused of a crime you didn't commit. Even if you end up being acquitted of any wrongdoing, you still run the risk of carrying the heavy burden of false accusations for the rest of your life. This certainly isn't something I would wish on anybody unfortunate enough to land themselves in such a position, especially in this day and age where someone is usually guilty until proven innocent, instead of the other way around. The French film "Anatomy of a Fall" deals with one woman's struggle to clear her name in the aftermath of her husband's unexpected death, in a film that efficiently balances family drama with damning courtroom exchanges in a way that is bound to leave audiences entertained.
Where this film excels at predominantly is in the effective characterisation of its lead subject and those she interacts with. As the film introduces us to Sandra, we see that she is a writer whose growing reputation has led to her being interviewed by a local journalist at her home. However, as the journalist conducts this interview, Sandra's husband Samuel blasts loud music on repeat upstairs, to the point where the interview can no longer take place due to the blatant noise pollution. Instead of correcting this problem herself, Sandra instead brushes off her husband's actions as merely being part of his eccentric personality, asking the journalist to come back another time when Samuel is less disruptive. This opening scene confirms to the audience that Sandra and Samuel's marriage is a strange one, which later sets things in motion once Sandra is informed of Samuel's untimely death.
To complicate matters further for Sandra, her son Daniel's near-blindness makes him an unreliable asset for her to use in court. As the young Daniel tries desperately to recall the important events leading up to his father's death, the police find that they are unable to use much of his testimony to help Sandra in the long run. This is due to him giving conflicting reports over where he was located at the time, as being near-sighted prevents Daniel from confirming the precise spot where he first heard things taking place. It is from here we see all of the bizarre and sometimes sad events unfold that ultimately lands Sandra in legal trouble, as there is seemingly no hard evidence to prove she wasn't responsible for the death of her husband. Thanks to the way these moments are set up, I found myself heavily invested in what was going to happen to both Sandra and Daniel since it seemed like things could definitely go either way.
Despite clocking in at just over two-and-a-half hours (152 minutes to be precise), at no point was I ever bored watching how this entire court case was playing out. I believe we have director Justine Triet's consistent use of editing and her solid script to thank for all of that. Each time I thought I'd figured out everything there is to know about a certain character's actions, something else would come along to blow it all out of the water and add more intriguing layers to this mystery. To that effect, I really enjoyed assembling all the pieces of this puzzle together to gain a better understanding of how someone like Samuel could have died in the way he did. Triet clearly knows how to properly weave her audience along for the film's long duration without ever resorting to repetitive filler or scenes that go nowhere. Every bit of information conveyed to the viewer felt as though it could be considered important to the conclusion of the story, whether verbal or visual. With that in mind, it is important to pay attention to all of the conversations happening between the characters, no matter how insignificant they may seem on the surface.
In the lead role, Sandra Hüller proves herself to be a highly watchable actress, as I was hanging onto virtually everything she had to say. Hüller does a fine job expressing the various emotions necessary for her character, ranging from genuine shock at the sudden loss of her husband to remaining calm under pressure when being questioned in court. Something else noteworthy about Hüller's performance is the way she swaps between speaking English and French so seamlessly during the courtroom scenes, which is even more impressive considering her native language in real life is actually German. It's no easy feat to take the centre stage for a film like this, especially one with such a lengthy runtime, but Hüller pulls off this near impossible task each time she is on screen.
Additionally, I think Milo Machado Graner is worth mentioning too as Daniel, whose interactions with his onscreen mother provided some of the film's most emotional moments. Watching a young boy come to terms with not only losing his father but also dealing with the very real possibility that his mother could end up in jail framed for his murder must be nothing short of heartbreaking from his perspective. To top it all off, he also has the handicap of being almost completely blind and unable to help his mother if the absolute worst case scenario ends up happening. The combination of both Hüller and Graner's performances is one of the key reasons this film is so interesting to watch, and without giving away spoilers, it all amounts to a satisfying conclusion.
If you like legal dramas, family crisis stories, or layered crime mysteries, then I'm sure "Anatomy of a Fall" has you covered on all fronts. What could have been another generic crime flick is in fact one of the most involving films of its kind to be released in a long time. It's rare to see a film balance each of its different genres together in such a smooth fashion while also making 152 minutes go by so quickly. For those reasons alone, this film has not only achieved its goal, but it has opened the door for more like it in the future. At least I can remain hopeful that will end up happening.
I rate it a solid 9/10.