Far more than a riveting courtroom drama, Triet’s film is a dissection of the court of public opinion and our willingness to attach labels to everything we see and hear based on limited facts. In Triet’s world, justice is messy, and the truth is obscure as a dance of love turns sour with tragic results. Anatomy of a Fall is playing in selected cinemas now.
More than ever, people act as judge and jury based on social media soundbites, 120-character texts, and edited videos. At the same time, many see themselves as armchair detectives, speculating on guilt and innocence with no evidence beyond 24/7 news shows. Gone are the days when people were “innocent until proven guilty.” In our modern world, you are “guilty until proven innocent.” TV and films have encouraged this court of public opinion, feeding us endless crime dramas, courtroom battles and murder mysteries where we are encouraged to scrutinise each character and decide who the bad apple is before the end credits roll.
But sometimes, there is no clear-cut answer, and no villain is hiding in plain sight. Sometimes, life is complicated, and our relationships even more so. Justine Triet’s gripping Cannes Palme d’Or-winning courtroom drama, Anatomy of a Fall, understands this and encourages us all to look beyond the simple answers we seek, as the complexity of our human relationships takes centre stage.
Marriage is far more than a meeting of souls; it’s a complex dance between two people that lasts a lifetime for some and, for others, becomes too difficult to maintain. Events outside a couple’s control can easily disrupt this intricate dance, leading to communication blocks, physical barriers, jealousy, and even hatred. The only people who fully understand the breakdown of this dance are the two people engaged in it as they attempt to navigate an uncertain new path while hiding their problems from those around them, especially their children.
For successful German-born author Sandra (Sandra Hüller) and her French husband, Samuel (Samuel Theis), their dance stopped the moment their son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), lost his sight in a terrible accident. Over time, they attempted to conceal the end of their dance, especially from Daniel. But when Samuel’s bloody body is found lying in the snow outside their Alpine chalet, their past conflicts and relationship difficulties suddenly and sharply come under the microscope of the police and state, as one devastating question comes into view: did Samuel jump to his death from the top floor of the chalet, or did Sandra push him in a fit of rage?
As Sandra finds herself on trial, with her child a key witness, the fault lines of her relationship with Samuel are about to be exposed as her lawyer, Maître Vincent Renzi (Swann Arlaud), attempts to save her from a public prosecutor intent on a charge of murder.
Triet and her husband Arthur Harari’s intricately crafted screenplay excels in playing with audience expectations by initially encouraging us to do what we always do in any courtroom drama: guess who is guilty. But it’s not long before Anatomy of a Fall highlights the flaws in our rush to attribute blame from the comfort of our cinema seat.
Clear inspiration is taken from Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder (1959), starring James Stewart and Lee Remick, as Triet explores language, lies and individual truths alongside the reality of a physical relationship gone sour. However, alongside the courtroom tension, we also have an intoxicating relationship drama that reflects the dramatic clout of Marriage Story (2019) and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), as Triet delves into the complex marriage of Sandra and Samuel.
At the heart of Triet’s film are two outstanding performances from Sandra Hüller and the young Milo Machado Graner. Hüller’s Sandra is cold yet vulnerable and loving yet distant. Her emotions hide behind an impenetrable wall that only occasionally crumbles, never allowing us to see the inner turmoil that bubbles away inside. At the same time, Milo Machado Graner beautifully captures the uncertainty, pain and need for answers of a boy caught in the riptide of a tragic event that lays bare the lie of the security and love he thought sat at the heart of family life.
Under the restless, ever-moving camerawork of Simon Beaufils, Anatomy of a Fall constantly shifts its perspective, prompting us to question everything we witness while never allowing us to gain a complete picture. As a result, we are left with far more questions than the court case answers in a film that is content to leave us pondering notions of guilt, innocence, healing and manipulation.
Is Sandra guilty? And is Daniel’s final testimony accurate or an attempt to draw a line and move beyond the pain surrounding him? Anatomy of a Fall offers no easy answers, as it challenges black-and-white notions of guilt and innocence, and the audience’s desire to assign blame. Far more than a riveting courtroom drama, Triet’s film is a dissection of the court of public opinion and our willingness to attach labels to everything we see and hear based on limited facts. In Triet’s world, justice is messy, and the truth is obscure as a dance of love turns sour with tragic results.
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