‘Anatomy Of A Fall’ Review: Sandra Hüller Stars In Justine Triet’s Calculated Courtroom Drama [TIFF]
(L-R) Samuel Theis, Sandra Hüller, & Milo Machado-Graner in Anatomy of a Fall. Courtesy of TIFF.
Billed as a murder mystery, Anatomy of a Fall plays out as more of an examination and dissection of a marriage, using the framing of a courtroom trial and investigation to dig into its central themes while maintaining a level of ambiguity that adds depth to post-watch discussions and rewatches. The film, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year, is the latest from Sibyl director Justine Triet, who co-writes and directs.
We follow Sandra (Sandra Hüller), a middle-aged mother and writer who, at her husband’s behest, has relocated her family to a small chalet in the French Alps. They seem to live a pretty picturesque life: their son, Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner); walks the dog; Sandra writes; and Samuel (Samuel Theis) works on renovating the attic. It’s when Sandra has an interview that Samuel initially becomes a problem. Or, more accurately, his music — an orchestral rendition of 50 Cent’s P.I.M.P. — becomes a problem. Samuel’s music is too loud, Sandra has to shut down her interview, and Daniel takes the dog for a walk — you get where this is going. Things get interesting when Daniel gets back, as he discovers his father’s dead body in the snow in front of the house, with a clear cause of death but a less clear intention. Was it an accident, a suicide, or a murder?
It’s easy to say that if Anatomy of a Fall isn’t a murder mystery, it’s a courtroom drama. On the surface, that’s not an unfair assertion, but it also doesn’t accurately represent what the film truly is. Sure, at times, it’s a courtroom drama — literally set in a courtroom — but it structures itself in a way that feels more engaging than most courtroom-set films, utilizing flashbacks to their fullest to give us exposition only when we truly need it. This works not only because of the strong writing but also because of Sandra Hüller’s performance, which, if it needed to, would put Anatomy of a Fall on its back and carry it through the two-and-a-half-hour runtime. The closest equivalent to Hüller’s leading turn here is Cate Blanchett’s work in last year’s Tár in the sense that both performances feel less like actors playing a character and more like us watching a real person’s story unfold on screen.
Sandra Hüller in Anatomy of a Fall. Courtesy of TIFF.
Though Hüller is given the real heavy lifting, Milo Graner, playing her son, is given some of the more emotionally charged moments, with his character serving as the catalyst — and only witness — for the events of the trial. There are a few times — to avoid crucial plot details, I won’t name them — that Graner really rises to the challenge, and when he’s on the same roster as all-stars like Hüller (and Swann Arlaud, who’s excellent as Sandra’s calculated lawyer), the task at hand is even harder.
Triet, stepping up big time from her past works, is a calm, confident directorial presence here. She uses repetitive imagery to evoke connections between events and is unafraid of leaning into the fact that trials aren’t always based on truths as much as they’re based on testimonies, which are, at best, reenactments of memories. Showing command of film as a visual — not just audial — medium, Triet is comfortable holding on close-ups for longer takes and remaining on wide shots to signify their impact instead of rapidly pushing in. There’s a clear reason for every camera movement in Anatomy of a Fall, and only some of them will initially stick out.
The film’s use of music is interesting, choosing a very select few moments to be accompanied by a score (not counting 50 Cent), only ever played on piano. It’s in these moments that we’re reminded of something Vincent (Arlaud) said to Sandra: “I need you to be precise.” It’s this precision or lack thereof, that reverberates off the acoustic piano themes that accompany these moments, whether it’s Daniel or someone else obsessing over the notes they’re playing, needing them to be perfect.
One of, if not the most interesting, things about Anatomy of a Fall is how it creeps into your subconscious, forcing you to form an opinion about its events to get a deeper understanding of the story and characters’ motivations. As it becomes clear that Samuel’s death wasn’t an accident, we’re forced to pick a side: Is Sandra innocent or guilty? It’s this question that we all have to individually answer that makes Anatomy of a Fall so powerful. It’s the idea that even though we don’t know exactly what happened, we should work to know why it happened. Sure, the film gives us a verdict at the end (whether we agree or disagree with it is a different story altogether), but the true ending is the discussions we have after the film that cement its impact.
