“Anatomy of a Fall” Review

After being accused of murder, a popular writer (Sandra Hüller) becomes the center of a deeply emotionally taxing trial in “Anatomy of a Fall”, the winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

With this year’s Oscar nominations having been announced, I was thrilled that I had seen eight out of the ten nominees for Best Picture and they were all films that I really enjoyed. However, I still felt the need to see the other two films that I’d missed. “Anatomy of a Fall” was one of them and, now having seen the film, I am wondering what I was thinking to have waited so long to watch it. Since the film won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, I had incredibly high expectations for this film. “Anatomy of a Fall” exceeded them with the entire film being this immaculate, massive accomplishment of acting, directing, editing, camerawork and writing.

In France, celebrated author Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller)  becomes the subject of an intense investigation after her husband Samuel (Samuel This) is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Having fallen to his death from the third floor of the couple’s home, Samuel’s death has equal parts suicide and murder written all over it, leading Sandra to be put on trial. Through this tremendous ordeal, the entire relationship of Sandra and Samuel and the events leading up the fall are meticulously picked apart, with Sandra and her young son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) trying to grasp this tragedy and make it through the trial with their sanity intact. 

With Justine Triet as the film’s director and cowriter, having written the screenplay with Arthur Harari, her vision for “Anatomy of a Fall” is truly remarkable on every level. What I love the most about the film’s story is how it never makes clear whether or not she actually did the deed. The film strongly implies that she’s innocent (at least that’s my interpretation) but this is never confirmed and there’s always a strong possibility that she did commit this heinous crime. It’s like watching Henry Fond passionately arguing about a defendant's innocence in “12 Angry Men” and then having Juror Number 6 ask Fonda’s Juror Number 8 in private “Supposin' you talk us all out of this and the kid really did knife his father?” 

Despite the film’s leanings, the death of Samuel is examined from every possible angle and the entire runtime is an emotional whirlwind. In the many sequences that focus on the trial, it’s like you’re a member of the jury with the prosecution, defense and many witnesses all making you part of the story as you question whether or not Sandra is guilty or not. 

At the heart of the film is Sandra Hüller’s magnetic performance which completely transcends what an actor is capable of. With this character, Hüller walks a tightrope and perfectly balances sympathy and animosity in regards to this case. The more I learned about Sandra and Samuel’s relationship, the more intensely invested I became. I was especially moved by Hüller’s. I never once felt that she was playing a character and all I saw was this very complex person trying to keep it together in a situation that would drive many people mad. I was also unsure about my feelings with this case and, after much consideration, I still don’t know whether or not Sandra did it and perhaps it’s a good thing that I don’t know. 

Also worthy of significant praise is the performance of Milo Machado Graner who delivers one of the most interesting performances by a child actor that I’ve seen since Julia Butters upstaged Leonard DiCaprio in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. As Sandra and Samuel’s son, Daniel’s evolution is quite compelling as he goes from being a side piece of the trail to an essential part of the film’s emotional center. The relationship between Daniel and his mother becomes increasingly strained over the events of the film for understandable reasons and your heart breaks because you know they love each other. But so much of Sandra’s dark secrets are revealed that Daniel begins to have his own doubts about his mother’s innocence. All of this culminates in a breathtaking piece of testimony that is one of the film’s strongest moments. 

With rich cinematography by Simon Beaufils and production design by Emmanuelle Duplay, “Anatomy of a Fall” has such a strong visual language to it. Like many courtroom dramas, the film’s bread and butter are lengthy sequences of intense conversations and all of the film’s elements, in front of and behind the camera, make every minute of this film riveting. The editing of Laurent Sénéchal keeps the tension exceptionally tight. With a runtime of over two-and-a-half hours, the film does move slowly to make you feel the weight of the situation but it’s always with purpose. 

I absolutely love the cinematic courtroom drama. Films like “A Few Good Men”, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and, of course, “12 Angry Men” all have quickly grabbed my attention with powerful testimony, grave consequences and incredible actors being given the chance to bear their souls in iconic roles. However, most of them have a clear outcome with regards to whether the individuals on trial have committed the crime. “Anatomy of a Fall” doesn’t go that route and that’s why I think the film is so powerful. Not only are you mesmerized by these broken characters and the moments that led to this tragedy but you also become a participant. Justine Triet isn’t going to tell you how to feel. You have to make that call. While so many of us are totally okay with making swift judgements with high profile trials (just look at people’s reactions to the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation lawsuit), it’s a much bigger challenge when you spend so much time getting to know these people. It’s also a challenge that I was happy to have undertaken.