“Anatomy of a Fall” is the definition of the kind of foreign film nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars that your annoying film obsessed family member relentlessly tells you to watch at Christmas — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I say that because that film guy is me by the way. I saw Justine Triet’s new film on opening night and it was thoroughly entertaining (normally my parents don’t go for French films, but I was able to sell them on the fact that around one third of the film is in English).
“Anatomy of a Fall” follows Sandra (Sandra Hüller), a successful novelist living in the French mountains with her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) and their visually impaired son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner). The film opens with Sandra being interviewed by a college student for their thesis, Daniel giving his pet dog Snoop a bath and Sam blasting 50 Cent through the attic. What starts as a tame opening to the film dramatically increases when Daniel finds his father’s body dead after falling off the side of the house with a large, bloody gash in his head.
The rest of the film plays out as a courtroom melodrama, with more of Sandra’s skeletons coming out of her closet. Everything from marital infidelities to emotional manipulation is used to accuse her of killing her husband. While her defense is claiming that Samuel committed suicide because he went off his anti-depressants and was stretching himself thin between homeschooling Daniel, fixing up their house and his lack of creativity within his writing.
Writer/Director Justine Triet penned an engaging story looking into the morality and complexity of domestic life but in a way that won’t surprise you, if you’ve seen the work of Ingmar Bergman and John Cassavetes. Although this “marriage in meltdown” is familiar, what “Anatomy of a Fall” lacks in potency is decently made up for with the setting and dash of courtroom drama.
The scenes in the courtroom are sharply written interrogations going dramatically back and forth; keeping the viewer engaged. The snow-covered mountains contribute to the mostly fluorescent color of the film, making the film feel cold and as distant, directly mirroring Sandra and Samuel.
Sandra Hüller carries the film with her tired eyes projecting both aloof jadedness, mournful regret, and flaming anger. A lot of the marketing for the early screening I went to is about a “If she did it?” angle, however her performance is morally ambiguous enough to let you come to your own conclusion. While I liked Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), who delivers a great performance for being a pre-teen at the time of shooting, the script plays his visual impairment fast and loose, only making it matter when the plot needs it to.
Overall, “Anatomy of a Fall” is one of the most straightforward films of the year and I would happily recommend it to people looking for a respectable drama film this season. I personally feel like my mom would really like this movie.
