Review: Anatomy of a Fall

Directed by: Justine Triet

Written by: Justine Triet & Arthur Harari

Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis

Rating: [4.5/5]

Winning in the court of law when real evidence does not exist merely comes down to who presents the more believable argument. In criminal law in the United States, the jury must believe a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, but France evidently has its own standards at play as we see in the riveting and engrossing Anatomy of a Fall. A film where the central case begins as the main debate but grows much more complex as it goes along. 

Trying to have an interview completed with a female student but must reschedule because of her husband blaring music, Sandra (Sandra Hüller) appears visibly frustrated. When their son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner) goes out to walk the dog, he returns to find his father outside dead from an apparent fall from his office upstairs. Now the primary suspect, Sandra stands trial for his murder. 

Courtroom dramas just have a way to engross when done well where they present settings that may embellish what might actually transpire in a real courtroom for theatrics but digs into some real truths. Perhaps some messiness gets involved to up the ante and then we get the over the top and borderline silly behaviors allowed in the case followed in this film where one begins to question if French courts operate in this manner. Seriously, several moments of badgering witnesses, completely inconsequential points given runway, and a lack of professionalism runs rampant to a hilarious degree. While it may not capture the accuracy of the court system it sure makes for some scintillating cinema. 

At the heart of this case the simple question lies where both sides must make the argument whether Sandra killed her husband by potentially pushing him out of the window. We, as audience members, sit in the dark of the real answer as much as anyone else. The only person who well and truly knows the truth is Sandra herself and intrigue continues to build in this film as she makes it difficult to believe everything she says. She, of course, pleads her innocence but so much points in some blame lying in her direction that makes this case so gray and filled with mystery. At the end of the day, with this hitting the courtroom, it matters not whether she actually did it but rather can she and her lawyer, Vincent (Swann Arlaud) convince the jury of her innocence. 

Even with that said, as we dig into this case more and more, the narrative shifts from purely a case of whether she did it but rather a litigation of the marriage Sandra had with her late husband. With more details that get revealed about Sandra’s relationship to her husband, the more troubles appear and continue to shape the way others view her and the likelihood of whether she killed him or not. Moments of unhappiness, regret, and resentment make themselves clear in the ways he recorded some of their conversations and captured his life journey, which fills in the edges of seeing a side of Sandra she did not necessarily want disclosed to others. It further shows the strife between them but also the plausibility of it being possible she killed him out of rage, or he decided to kill himself out of spite, knowing she would stand as the prime suspect with no definitive way to prove her innocence.

Weaving through this masterful screenplay, director Justine Triet co-wrote it with her husband, providing a real foundation to his story in the way it dissects this marriage in raw and honest ways. This resentment between Sandra and her late husband stems from many elements that played a part where things got this bad. From them moving to his homeland and putting Sandra in a place where she cannot speak her native tongue and an accident involving their son that forever haunted him. Moments of trauma that continue to linger and compound that leads to the eruption we see take place at the film’s climax, and Triet just nails it so hard I wanted to stand and applaud her effort as it relishes in the mess of relationships. This proves especially true with those where the love that initially brought them together barely exists anymore. 

For a film very much focused on talking, it puts more emphasis on the actors, and this film got blessed by the work of Sandra Hüller. An actor who initially impressed me with her work in Toni Erdmann but she operates at a whole other level here as Sandra. The way she delivers in the climactic scene of the film that shows a recording of the big fight between Sandra and her husband, the way she channels this vitriol and anger truly just took me aback. A powerhouse performance that pretty much steamrolls everyone else except for the young Milo Machado-Graner who does a tremendous job as the visually-impaired son of the married couple in question. He has to deliver some very emotionally heartbreaking moments and he stepped up to the occasion in demonstrating how difficult of a circumstance this created for such a young boy as his testimony sits as the linchpin of whether his mother goes to prison for murdering her father. 

Never did I think that 50 Cent’s “p.i.m.p.” would factor this heavily into a courtroom drama, especially one set in France, but evidently Anatomy of a Fall had plenty up its sleeve in creating a riveting viewing experience. From beginning to end, it brings us into the drama of this circumstance and how this story loves to sit in the gray area. The narrative moves beyond the simple binary of guilty or not guilty but well and truly dissects Sandra and her late husband’s relationship and expands the discussion far beyond this singular moment in their lives. Add in the wonderful acting also done by the dog, Messi, and a lawyer with great hair and it further proves Justin Triet created something simply astounding with this feature and a big fan out of me.