‘Anatomy of a Fall’: An exceptionally well-made courtroom drama

• Release Date: 02/02/2024
• Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Jehnny Beth, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis
• Director: Justine Triet

“Anatomy of a Fall” Interrogates the Chaos of Matrimony and Motherhood Through a Probing Trial

“Anatomy of a Fall” chronicles the journey of Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), an author who relocated to France with her husband, Samuel (Samuel Theis) and their son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) who is visually impaired. Their marriage has been deteriorating since their son’s accident, which left him blind. Samuel slipped into depression, blaming himself for the tragedy and Sandra did rent him for a period that further pushed Samuel into self-pity in a strange way. The first time we see Sandra, she is trying to give an interview to an attractive young lady but is deliberately interrupted by Samuel, who plays music so loud that Sandra is unable to complete the interview. Later, their son Daniel finds Samuel soaked in blood and possibly dead after what appears to be a fatal fall from their own house.

The police arrive at the spot, and they begin an investigation that quickly escalates to a point where they believe that Sandra might have killed her husband after a violent debate and a spat of physical violence. As the case comes up for trial, Sandra must do everything she can to protect herself. While doing so, the revelations she makes about her relationship with her husband gradually start eroding the only relationship she has left in the world – her relationship with her son. Things take a tragic turn for Sandra when her son starts doubting his mother, and then there comes a point where the case, Sandra’s freedom, and the future of the mother-son relationship hang on one final testimony of her son Daniel.

“Anatomy of a Fall” is a lot of things. First and foremost, it is an exceptionally well-made courtroom drama. I have a knack for well-done courtroom dramas, and I don’t mind them being dialogue-heavy. “Anatomy of a Fall” will easily rank as one of the most dialogue-heavy courtroom dramas. Not only is there a lot said between characters during the courtroom exchanges but almost all of it is complemented with strong emotional and dramatic moments resulting out of the revelations that are made. These courtroom scenes also run for prolonged periods, I never felt the passage of time. I was so immersed in the storytelling and performances that I never cared to check how long I was engrossed in matters that didn’t actually take the case radically in a certain direction but were important in the gradual development of the plot and the drama between the mother and the son.

The court case proves to be an instrument of revelation of the deteriorating state of the relationship between Daniel and Sandra. It also works as the cause for the turmoil in the relationship between Sandra and Daniel. The director masterfully exposes something through the courtroom proceedings and then takes us back in time through flashbacks to show us the incident unfolding. This storytelling device works wonderfully and not only goes on to create a deep emotional impact on the audience but also justifies the impact of it on the other characters in the story who then start behaving differently. When these revelations are made, the way the characters are shown reacting is also exceptionally well-executed and in strong keeping with how far the scene could have gone.

The way the prosecuting and defending attorneys go about doing their parts in the trial felt extremely genuine and added so much to the trial. These characters draw our attention to different aspects of the husband-wife, father-son, and mother-son relationship. While they are at it, they try to prove a connection between these basic human relationships and their impact on the actions of a man. The way the two attorneys use these elements to prove their polarizing different and yet solid points was marvellous to watch.

The exploration of the mental state of the different characters and the relationships between them is further delved into using the lead-up to the trial and the time that the characters spend between the trial days. There are short but poignant conversations between Sandra and the few people that she has around her. The way Sandra expresses herself during the trial and cross-questioning, and her uneasiness when certain things that she doesn’t want to be revealed in front of her son are exposed, are envisioned and executed with such beauty and nuance that it instantly enhances the impact of the film. I was waiting for the director to go back to a reaction shot of Daniel every time Sandra is forced to reveal something ugly about her relationship with Samuel, but Justine Triet doesn’t give us that. As the mother has difficulty facing her son, the camera also has difficulty looking at him for his reactions, and the camera is literally afraid to see what it knows it will see when it looks back at Daniel. Soon, we get a fleeting glimpse of Daniel, and we understand what he has been going through. This ploy is used time and again, and every time it has the desired impact.

Sandra Hüller delivers the performance of her lifetime. I am astounded by the depth, poignancy, power, and realism that she brings to her portrayal. How someone transforms herself into a character so completely and then delivers such deep and impactful expressions at the call of a director will forever remain an enigma for me. Hüller’s performance is the kind that is incredibly difficult to pull off since she has to portray something deep down inside that she is not. At the same time, she has to show glimpses of the person that she is trying to hide. If that was not enough, her moral compass is also shown to be not fully devoid of any blemishes. She has done things that she is not proud of and might have set her husband on a certain path that ultimately resulted in his death. That is another thing that must be shown looming on her expression as she sits through the trial and faces tough questions. She also has to be a dependable mother and yet is watching her own son gradually drift away from her. Hüller juggles these complex emotional elements in one single performance and leaves the kind of impact that you don’t get to see too often in films these days.

Milo Machado Graner as Daniel is remarkable. There is a scene right at the end of the film where we see him react to a new revelation that finally puts an end to a subject that has been plaguing him and his relationship with his mother for the duration of the film. This little portion of the film is alone worth the price of admission. Just to witness someone so young emote with such conviction and realism was a matter of great discovery for me. There are scenes of him scattered throughout the film where we see him react to different situations, and then there is the final moment where he realizes that his mother might have been correct all along. Still, he is confused about whether or not to trust her. The duality and confusion that Milo brings to the character make these portions of the film feel even more heartbreaking and real. Without his seasoned and mature portrayal, this would have been a lesser film, and the tragedy of the entire predicament would not have been as effective.

Swann Arlaud and Antoine Reinartz, the two competing attorneys in the case, are both fantastic. Swann Arlaud shares an interesting chemistry with Sandra Hüller. The two characters go back a long way, and this leads Sandra to ask Swann some personal questions about her that not only bring out how Swann actually feels for her but also make him take the case a lot more personally. He admits that he isn’t a very good advocate, and yet when it comes to Sandra’s case, his defense is faultless. The conviction and the strength to set things right for her show in the mannerisms of Swann when he is defending her. Under a more personal setting, he feels like a totally different man, and this duality in his personality was interesting to watch.

Antoine Reinartz, on the other hand, hates everything that Sandra stands for, and for that reason more than anything else, he wants to see her punished. He seems to be running a personal vendetta against her more than professional misgivings. There is a lot of punch in everything that he says about her, and this goes on to underline his personal animosity towards her. This is something that is displayed by Reinartz’s essay of the character throughout and was riveting to watch. Without his formidable presence and his ability to nearly ensure that Sandra would face punishment for something that she might not have done, were one of the most important factors in making the film so interesting.

There is a lot that we learn throughout the film about the character of Sandra that doesn’t paint a pretty picture of hers. She has been disloyal to her husband. She was not particularly supportive of some of his decisions. She resented him for not ensuring Daniel’s safety and rebuked him for the same. She was also not particularly a good listener and wanted her own space more than anything else. She also was not particularly accepting of being where the family was, as she enjoyed her time more in Germany. Having said all that, the only thing that really mattered in this particular case was whether she had murdered him or not, and that is something that we arrive at by the end of the film. Was she instrumental in driving her husband to the point where he killed himself? That was questionable. If she was, in fact, instrumental, her son could be cited just as a big a reason for the death since it was his accident that catalyzed the entire tragedy. Was her husband also not bogged down by his own inability to write and 1000 other things that could have been avoided? The film provides a complex tapestry of numerous events and situations about the emotional state, relationships, and the whys and hows of a seemingly complex death that can be looked at as a suicide as well as a murder and in doing this Justine Triet pulls off an engaging, emotionally charged and highly rewarding drama. This is the kind of film that you will need to watch atleast a couple of times to soak in completely. 

Rating: 3.5/5 (3.5 out of 5 Stars)

The views expressed in this article are that of the reviewer and do not reflect EastMojo’s position.

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