‘Anatomy Of A Fall’ Review – A Dash of Prestige Is Added To An Enthralling Courtroom Drama

In the wrong hands, Anatomy of a Fall could be a standard procedural drama that you catch on CBS or NBC. Some of its beats will feel familiar but director Justine Triet (working from a screenplay she co-wrote with Arthur Harari) presents the material in a way that reveals surprising character elements as a murder trial unfolds. At its core, the film is about a deconstruction of a marriage and the roads that were taken to get to the courtroom where the audience learns all the sordid details of their union. Thanks to great attention to detail, the movie works on both levels and you’re left riveted until the credits begin to roll.

Sandra (Sandra Hüller) is a German novelist who is accused of murdering her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) in their secluded French Cabin. A year after the events, the trial begins and the courtroom becomes the space in which every aspect of their marriage is examined for the whole world to see. No one is spared from what went on between the couple, including their blind son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), who happens to be the only witness to his father’s demise. As the film’s title comes into play, Daniel also had the grisly task of finding his father’s body after he seems to have fallen from a window. He dies on impact but he also leaves a particularly odd blood spatter from the severity of his fall.

Triet and her fellow writer Harari have a lot of fun sprinkling in little tidbits that will prove to be important before any of the main plot unfolds. A lot of this is done through pieces of music but the most intriguing use of it comes in the form of 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.”, which is played on a deafening loop by Samuel during home renovations. While it might sound absurd at first, it ends up being a crucial plot point because along with the events of the courtroom, many of these subtle mentions go a long way to reveal things about the characters. From their true identities to their deepest and darkest insecurities.

A ruthless prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz) also goes a long way to reveal the cracks that were seemingly present in their marriage. Sandra is put under the microscope as it’s gradually revealed that the union was on the rocks much longer than anyone realized. These represent some of the film’s best scenes as Reinartz invades Sandra’s psyche with every accusatory monologue that would suggest that Sandra would have every reason to want to kill her husband. He even uses excerpts from her novel against her, which is borrowed very heavily from her own life. Reinartz seems to enjoy playing someone completely reprehensible in their goal for a trial win.

Of the two in the marriage, Sandra is the most fully formed character. All we see of Samuel are reconstructions because the audience doesn’t truly meet him until after he dies. it’s almost like having an unreliable narrator when it comes to Samuel’s true personality. He becomes born because of other people’s memories of him. We also get some riveting visualizations of secret recordings of arguments that he took with Sandra, which presents even more cracks in their marriage and casts doubt on whether or not this was a murder or a suicide.

Sandra, as played by Hüller, is a fascinating character study. She has to present a version of herself during the trial and a version of herself in private. She can’t exactly show weakness on the stand but there are moments when she cracks due to the pressure of the situation. Through Hüller’s performance, you can see the exhaustion that the year has caused for her. At its core, it’s a very vulnerable performance that doesn’t completely play its hand. This isn’t a woman who is lost in the grief of her husband’s death or one that drowning in the anxiety of being the the one accused of it. Sandra is processing the entire situation as it transpires and it’s the process that is weighing on her. During one private moment, she expresses that she’s tired of crying and that’s when you can tell that all corners of this event have consumed her life from the moment her husband lost his life.

Not to be overlooked is Machado Graner as Daniel, who transcends being a child performer by finding the maturity to handle such adult material. Graner has to play different beats and he is a pro at all of them. He has to deal with the loss of his father but there is also the confusion surrounding his mother. Did she do it? Should he believe her? When you only have one parent left, you don’t want to believe they could be responsible for the death of the other. In addition to that doubt, Daniel has to learn that his parent’s marriage was not perfect and that what he knew them to be as a couple wasn’t entirely true. At this point, Daniel is seeking stability and he’s trying to figure out which possibility he should embrace, even if it’s the one that paints his mom in a negative light. It’s through Graner’s performance that the audience buys he could accept any of these outcomes but the viewer also feels his constant state of confusion when new evidence can point him in a new direction. This is all done with Graner convincingly playing the character without the ability to see.

You can tell that Triet finds Daniel to be the emotional core of the story. The director frames several shots in the courtroom at the side of his head to make sure the audience is fully aware of his presence. Daniel can hear all of the words being said during the trial but Triet expertly uses her camera to almost mimic some of the things that Daniel was once able to see (he was blinded during an early childhood accident). Daniel may not see much, but his emotions run deep and it’s imperative that he has some understanding of his father’s death and if his mom may or may not have been, involved in it.

By the end of Anatomy of a Fall, you aren’t left with all of the answers but that doesn’t seem to be the point. The real revelations are the truths that come to the surface. It’s not really anything about the facts but more about needing the stability of finding a sense of truth that allows you to carry on, even when it ultimately really hurts.

Anatomy of a Fall is playing exclusively in theaters courtesy of NEON. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUXawkH-ONM]