Star Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Antoine Reinartz, and Samuel Theis
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Director: Justine Triet
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What’s Bad: There’s little interaction between the characters outside the first act, but while it is understandable, considering the story’s context, we wish there could be more of it.
Loo Break: While this is a long film, the pacing is quite good; there are revelations and reflections at every moment, so there are no breaks here; you need to take every detail into account.
Watch or Not?: This is a must-watch for all fans of cinema in general.
Language: English
Available On: In Theaters
Runtime: 152 Minutes.
User Rating:
Anatomy of a Fall is this year’s winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, and being the recipient of such an award should already be a sign of quality. After watching the film, the recognition was very well deserved. Anatomy of a Fall follows the story of Sandra, a woman who must face a tragedy along with her son Daniel, and the appalling sight of her life being distorted in search of the truth related to a crime that could or could not have happened.
Anatomy of a Fall is one of those very sober films that often come from European cinema. European cinema can be romantic, funny, and emotional but also very calculated and cold in ways no other region can match. Anatomy of a Fall falls into this later sector of cinema and tells a story that should be pretty emotional but does it under a very cold perspective, reflecting, without a doubt, the mood of its protagonist, a writer named Sandra.
The movie could be divided into two very distinctive parts: a first act, where we get to know Sandra and her blind son Daniel, and another second and longer part, which focuses on an event suddenly turned into a crime scene, where Sandra is the main suspect. This is the film’s core, and it paints a terrifying picture, as Sandra sees events in her life from another point of view to make them look horrible and inconsistent with the rest of her life.
The doubts that this change of perception generates in the film’s main character are also developed in the audience, which makes the film intriguing and hard to watch. Can we trust Sandra and her words? Is everything in the case just taken out of proportion? These questions are fundamental and even more scary when we ask them about ourselves. At times, the issue becomes incredibly frustrating depending on the look at the main character, but the fact that the case will raise emotions tells us that the film is very well-made.
However, even when the film manages to place doubts about everything we see, the way the film divides itself doesn’t allow for a lot of character development out of our main character, at least not the level of character development that feels satisfying, because as the movie ends, you don’t know how is the character feeling, honestly. This seems intentional, but for some people, this distance from the character might be too clinical for their taste.
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Sandra Hüller is the film’s star, and with her performance in The Zone of Interest, another film considered one of the best of the year, the German actress is living her moment in all of its glory. Her performance here in Anatomy of a Fall feels real, even when the character is quite distant. She moves and behaves in ways that feel realistic and consistent with a character that is so pragmatic. Hüller knows that she must remain at a distance to make it harder for the audience to judge her.
Nevertheless, the actual breakthrough performance of the film belongs to Milo Machado-Graner, who plays Sandra’s son, Daniel. The young actor is filled with exceptional talent, which allows him to play the role of not only a blind kid but also a very mature kid who finds himself at a crossroads that will challenge his beliefs about reality and whom to trust. Daniel’s character is vital for the film to work, and a performance like this to come out of such a young actor feels genuinely like a miracle.
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Justine Triet’s direction is clinical but, at times, quite cozy and tender, and this whiplash in tone is needed to experience at least a bit of what the character, Sandra, is experiencing through this event. At times, it is all well with her son at her house, but then the cold reality of the case comes crashing down on her like a wave of details whose only purpose is to apply the death by a thousand cuts on her.
Visually, the movie does a lot to create a sense of intimacy and worries very little about the young beyond. The city of Grenoble is mentioned several times throughout the film, but it is rare to see parts of the town, the main focus in Sandra’s environments, her house, and the courtroom where most of the film’s second half takes place. The inclusion of 50 Cent’s song, P.I.M.P., as an essential motif makes the film feel surreal and silly at times, but all in a good way.
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Anatomy of a Fall is a fantastic drama that explores the life of its main character in ways very few films manage to do when taking on that goal. The performances are sublime, including a breakthrough performance from Graner. The plot is intriguing and will make audiences doubt from the very beginning where to put their trust. Ultimately, the answers to the main questions will lie only in ourselves, which should be enough for a film that does so much.
Anatomy of a Fall releases on December 29, 2023.
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