Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 99
May 24, 2024
My Oni Girl Review – Spirits You Away to Snoozeland
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
I really wanted to like this and didn’t even have high expectations as such. But it’s so boring that I started to zone out with 45 minutes still left to go! I did watch all of it, while fighting the urge to fall sleep, even though it was only 8 pm (before dinner) and I rarely go to bed before 2 am these days. If you by any chance you thought that Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and The Heron” was slow, then “My Oni Girl” will make it look like “The Fast and The Furious”.
Director Tomotaka Shibayama (“A Whisker Away”) has co-written the script for the animated fantasy film “My Oni Girl” (Original title: Suki demo kirai na amanojaku) with Yûko Kakihara. The story follows teenager Yatsuse Hiiragi, who meets an Oni (a supernatural demon that looks human) called Tsumugi and decides to help her on her quest to find someone in the human realm.
Hiiragi runs away from home at night with Tsumugi, because he is upset over his dad hiring a private tutor for him, instead of letting him attend cram classes like everybody else. It’s not even like Hiiragi’s parents are mean or evil. Both his parents are very cool about him showing up with Tsumugi at their home in the evening (before they run away without informing anybody). They don’t even know her, yet they cook up a nice meal for her and even ask her to stay over for the night because it starts to rain out of the blue. Hiiragi is essentially portrayed as a repressed young man, who hides away his feelings and doesn’t speak his mind, even though the creators aren’t convincingly able to establish what his problem is. In-fact, Hiiragi doesn’t have a personality at all, Tsumugi in comparison has some spark and is determined to complete her mission. Hiiragi is her boring human navigator.
Visually, “My Oni Girl” looks pretty good for an animated movie, featuring cute character designs and beautiful settings that seem to blend 2D and 3D animation seamlessly. Tsumugi resembles the manic-pixie dream girl stereotype with her short silver-pink hair and boundless energy, she made me briefly think about Ramona Flowers from the Scott Pilgrim comics. However, Tsumugi’s personality is much more straightforward—she’s simply a runaway searching for someone. However, the world-building and mythical aspects of the story, such as the hidden world where supernatural beings like Tsumugi live, aren’t woven in an engaging manner.
With an almost 2-hour runtime, “My Oni Girl” (Suki demo Kirai na Amanojaku) feels far too overstretched, featuring climactic twists that make little sense. While that’s often acceptable for a fantasy movie about demons and gods, here, it’s just not fascinating. Perhaps younger viewers who haven’t seen a lot of teen fantasy animated movies might just enjoy this movie a lot more, however, seasoned fans of anime, the kinds who’re familiar with the genre will find it far too mundane.
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Crew Review – Lead Trio Smoothly Flies Buddy Comedy
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Geeta Sethi, Jasmine Kohli and Divya Rana are all air-hostesses with Kohinoor airlines, which hasn’t been paying its employees salaries for six months, causing them a lot of financial distress. So, when the women find out about a gold-smuggling racket running right under their nose via their flights, they decide to profit from it too, but trouble brews when custom officials become suspicious of their activities!
Directed by Rajesh A Krishnan, the 2024 movie “Crew,” starring Kareena Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, and Tabu, has been written by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri, the duo who co-wrote the buddy comedy “Veere Di Wedding.” As soon as the movie begins, the comical drama sets the tone for its primary conflict as Geeta (Tabu), Divya (Kriti Sanon), and Jasmine (Kareena Kapoor) are summoned for questioning over gold smuggling. The characters quickly introduce themselves, each one a world apart from the others.
Tabu is entertaining as the hard-working senior air hostess Geeta Sethi, who dreams of opening a hotel with her husband and is pinning her hopes on getting PF money from the airline. Kareena Kapoor plays a vivacious variant of her usual onscreen personas – the bubbly, ambitious Jasmine who loves living it up and often resorts to petty stealing to fund what she wants. Then there’s Kriti Sanon (last seen in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya) as Divya Rana, who is trained to be a pilot but, due to lack of jobs, is forced to become an air hostess.
The onscreen camaraderie between the leading ladies of “Crew” is its best feature. Their banter captures the essence of fun female friendships, and the diverse ages of the characters bring a refreshing dynamic to the Bollywood film. While Kareena and Tabu’s character have a more peer-like relationships, Kriti Sanon is endearing as their nervous junior, who refers to Tabu as “Sethi ma’am”. And despite being a largely formulaic heist-comedy, which often defies logic to make its plot twists work, “Crew” manages to maintain a fun tone for most of its runtime. I was just thinking how it’s so much better than Kevin Hart’s “Lift”, which is also a mid-air heist film, but absurdly far-fetched and totally underwhelming.
Throughout the 2-hour runtime of “Crew”, Geeta, Jasmine, and Divya are almost always dressed to kill. In fact, for air hostesses who are struggling with money, they look a little too fabulously dressed all the time. But hey, logic isn’t the strong suit of this film. You are supposed to put your seatbelts on, sit back, and let the writers take you on a no-brainer, entertaining ride. A catchy soundtrack, with two groovy remixes of already popular songs – “Choli Ke Peechey Kya Hai” and “Sona Kitna Sona Hai” – really works well to make the comedic proceedings engrossing. Diljit Dosanjh, who plays a customs officer named Jaiveer in “Crew,” also performs an original melodious song called “Naina,” featuring a rap by Badshah, which has a very “Tareefa” vibe.
After the one-hour mark, the pace of “Crew” dips a bit, making you wonder how they will keep things engaging. However, after 10-15 minutes of slower, meandering moments, the plot picks up pace again. Saswata Chatterjee is hilarious in his small cameo as Vijay Walia, the owner of Kohinoor Airlines, modeled after Vijay Mallya, the billionaire fugitive whose Kingfisher Airlines went bust, leaving hundreds of staff and crew members in the lurch. The script light-heartedly explores the divide between wealthy employers and middle-class employees, while the second half packs in a few serious moments, highlighting how the malpractices of corrupt business owners detrimentally impact the lives of their workers.
Working, partying, shopping, and even a bit of blackmailing and smuggling —Geeta Sethi, Jasmine Kohli, and Divya Rana’s work friendship goes far beyond the regular duties of an air hostess, and the women keep audiences amused with their shenanigans until the end of “Crew”. The last few minutes of the climax are predictable, a tad chaotic, and not as funny as they could’ve been, but things end on a celebratory note, where the “criminals” sort of make amends for their crimes and get away with more than they would’ve bargained for. Watch if you’re up for a women-led buddy comedy with a heist twist.
You can stream “Crew” on Netflix.
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May 23, 2024
Until Wednesday Season 2, There’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!
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It’s been 35 years since “Beetlejuice” first hit the screens, but Tim Burton’s 2024 update not only reunites much of the original cast but also introduces a host of fun new characters to the mix. Warner Brothers dropped the trailer for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” where Michael Keaton, of course, reprises his role as the wild, loud poltergeist who loves to cause mayhem.
The trailer opens with a funeral, attended by original characters Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), her mother Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), and a new addition—Lydia’s daughter Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega of “Wednesday” fame. Astrid doesn’t know anything about Beetlejuice, so despite her mother’s warnings, she ends up awakening the mischievous ghoul, leading them into a lot of trouble involving ghosts, monsters, and other weird creatures as the lines between the real world and the spectral realm begin to blur.
Well, nobody probably expected a sequel to the gothic-horror-comedy almost three decades later, but judging by the trailer for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” it sure looks like a fun follow-up to the first Tim Burton film. Apart from Ortega, some of the other new standout cast members include Monica Bellucci as a character resembling a cross between Morticia Addams and the ghost bride from Burton’s animated flick “Corpse Bride,” and Willem Dafoe as another supernatural character.
What’s probably the most entertaining aspect of the sequel for older fans is that Tim Burton has deliberately retained the garish makeup for Beetlejuice, along with traditional special-effect scenes that scream the late ’80s and ’90s, but in the most campy, amusing manner.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is set to release in theaters on September 6th. You can watch the trailer on YouTube, it also embedded below.
My Love Mix-Up! Thai Trailer Brings on The Fireworks
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If are already a fan of the the hilarious high-school romance My Love Mix-Up! (Kieta Hatsukoi – 消えた初恋 ), the Japanese manga series by Wataru Hinekure and Aruko, there’s now a Thai live-action-adaptation to look forward too. While there’s already a hugely entertaining Japanese version of “My Love Mix-Up!” starring Mishieda Shunsuke and Muguro Ren available to stream on Netflix, the Thai version promises to be a fun offering too.
GMMTV dropped it’s official trailer for the Thai “My Love Mix-Up!”, which features rising young stars Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul and Gemini Norawit Titicharoenrak as leads Atom (Aoki from the Manga) and Kongthap (Ida from the Manga). The actors have already proven their onscreen chemistry in the breezy music-themed High-School comedy “My School President”, so there’s already that to look forward too. Chokun Puttipong Jitbut and Pahn Pathitta Pornchumroenrut join them as secondary leads for the series. Fourth is just as capricious, confused, and energetic as Aoki from the Manga, while Gemini is looks perfect as the more shy, calm, serious Ida.
Based on the 2-minute, 40-second trailer, “My Love Mix-Up!” appears to be quite faithful to the original manga series. The infamous eraser mix-up leads to a lot of romantic confusion: Atom has a huge crush on his classmate, but when she lends him an eraser with Kongthap’s name on it, Atom is crushed. He decides to help her out, only to start falling for Kongthap himself. Kongthap sees the eraser with Atom and thinks Atom has feelings for him. Yes, it’s full of confusion, chaos, comedy, and chuckles.
Fans are already thrilled with the trailer, especially since it features a cute firecracker scene from the manga that didn’t make it into the Japanese adaptation, which came out while the manga was still ongoing. The Thai “My Love Mix-Up!” will be streaming on GMMTV’s YouTube channel every Friday from June 7 at 8:30 PM, which is 6:30 PM IST.
You can watch the trailer on YouTube, it’s also embedded below.
The Greatest Hits Review – Loss Through the Lens of Music
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The 2024 romance movie “The Greatest Hits” has an eerily similar plot to the 2022 film “Press Play” – in both stories, the female protagonists are able to travel back in time while listening to certain music, which gives them a chance to save their dead boyfriends. So, even though it’s not wholly original, the plot is still quite unique compared to many run-of-the-mill romances out there.
Written and directed by Ned Benson, “The Greatest Hits” stars Lucy Boynton as primary protagonist Harriet Gibbons, who works in a library and is in a grief-support group to come to terms with the loss of her boyfriend Max (David Corenswet). However, Harriet also possesses a stranger power – to travel back in time briefly every time she hears a song that holds a memory of her dead boyfriend. While her best-friend Morris Martin (Austin Crute) constantly convinces her to work towards moving on, Harriet is busy spending all her free time trying to find a record she thinks will help her go back to a memory that could save Max. Not open to giving herself a second shot at love, Harriet begins to re-think her mission when she meets the charming David Park (Justin H. Min), who is also working through his own problems.
Harriet’s grief and inability to move on from Max’s death are immediately established in the opening sequences of “The Greatest Hits.” From refusing to speak up at her therapy group sessions to refusing to discard Max’s belongings, Harriet desperately clings to the past, sure that she can change it and have a happier ending with “the love of her life.” It helps that Lucy Boynton and David Corenswet are incredibly cute as Harriet and Max, and their chemistry will divide viewers over who to root for—the dead boyfriend Max or the potential future boyfriend David Park.
Despite the time-travel trope, “The Greatest Hits” doesn’t require a lot of special effects, making it a visually aesthetic romance movie centered around loss, memories, and music. From classics like Mozart’s “Fantasia in D Minor” to Nelly Furtado’s chart-topping pop song “I’m Like A Bird,” the music featured in the film is an eclectic mix. Of course, the matter of how amazing the selection of tracks is highly subjective. For me, except for the hits I was already familiar with, none of the unfamiliar numbers made me go, “Ooh, what’s that? I need to look it up on the internet now!” It’s something the characters argue about too—they don’t always agree on what tunes are great, so we’ll all just have to agree to disagree on how many of the songs are worthy of the tag “The Greatest Hits.”
Given its sombre themes of love, loss, grief, and fragility of the human heart and mind, I feel like ‘The Greatest Hits” could’ve been a little longer than its 1 hour 34 minute runtime. Due to lack of time, Justin H. Min’s character David Park doesn’t get enough space, even though he is a primary romantic lead. Except for the fact that he is a good-looking guy dealing with loss and emotional baggage too, we don’t get to know much about him.
Lucy Boynton’s portrayal of Harriet is beautiful, her turbulent emotions palpable in each scene. When she goes from crying to smiling, her face lights up the frame. Austin Crute supporting part as her BFF Morris is very entertaining, especially since he doesn’t hold back from criticizing Harriet’s self-sabotaging behavior. There aren’t many other character, and I really liked the razor sharp focus on Harriet’s struggles, the creators don’t waste the tight runtime on forced jokes or unnecessary character interactions.
For a romance film with a surreal time-travel twist, “The Greatest Hits” is a real good one-time watch, especially if you haven’t seen other titles with similar plot twists. The climax is emotional, open-ended, and closes Harriet’s life-record on a hopeful note.
Rating: 7.5 on 10. You can stream the film on Hulu or Disney Plus.
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May 22, 2024
Mother-Daughter Murder Night – Book Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
While not exactly un-putdownable, “Mother-Daughter Murder Night” is a fun, family-themed murder mystery that follows a grandmother-granddaughter duo investigating a murder, with reluctant assistance from the mother. So, okay, the “Mother-Daughter Murder Night” title is misleading, since the grandmom and her grandkid do most of the work, but author Nina Simon does put in a fleeting back-story somewhere in the middle of the novel to (sort of) justify the intriguing name. I hadn’t even heard about this book until my parents made a video-call from an airport bookshop to ask me if I wanted anything and that’s when I spotted the novel’s bold font title and though it would make a fun pick for mom and me to read.
I was expecting “Mother-Daughter Murder Night” to be something far more exciting, maybe a thriller about a mom-daughter duo trying to save themselves from a murderous cult or something. I don’t know. But despite my wild expectations from the book, it turned out be an engaging enough read. While the plot doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat at any point, it’s one of the things I liked best about the novel – that I could leisurely read a few chapters every day without dying of anxiety over who the murderer is! In other words, if you’re looking for a nail-biting whodunnit, this is probably not it.
The primary focus of “Mother-Daughter Murder Night” tends be on its leading trio of women and Nina Simon amusingly spins the relationship dynamics between them. The primary protagonist is Lana Rubicon, a stylish, successful, fierce, and ambitious real estate shark, who is pushed into hibernation mode due to cancer. She leaves her plush LA home to move in with her daughter Beth and teen granddaughter Jack and is bored out her mind in their sleepy sea-side neighbourhood, until Jack finds a dead body during her part-time job as a kayak tour guide. Unfortunately, teen Jack becomes a potential suspect for the clueless cops, and Lana Rubicon takes it upon herself to investigate the case and clear Jack, but even after the cops remove Jack from their suspect list, Lana and Jack do not back off from their private snooping into the case to solve the murder mystery. Lana’s daughter Beth isn’t enthused about their investigations, but grudgingly helps them. And as more clues unravel, the women realize their lives might be in danger too.
Not too surprisingly, “Mother-Daughter Murder Night” features some classic Agatha Christie mystery elements, with multiple suspects, land and inheritance disputes, and a possible love affair gone wrong. But like I wrote earlier, it’s the complicated relationship between Lana, Beth, and Jack that stands out best in the novel, with all the women having distinctly different personalities. Lana is not your typical grandmother at all, she prioritizes her career over everything, so when cancer strikes, she isn’t enthused about having to live with her daughter Beth, as the two are almost estranged. So it takes a murder to shakes things up for the women, and they bond over solving pieces of the puzzle.
Author Nina Simon uses easy-to-read, casual language. As an international reader, I liked the fact that I never felt lost over any of the local or cultural references in the story. There’s considerable suspense throughout the book over who the murderer is and Nina throws plenty red-herrings to keep readers guessing until the end over the true motivations of the killer. Lana’s love for success, Jack’s passion for kayaking and sailing, and Beth’s general compassion for everything around her make “Mother-Daughter Murder Night” a cozy, casual read.
Rating: 3.5 on 5.
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May 21, 2024
Thelma the Unicorn Movie Review
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Thelma is a sweet little farm-pony who wants to become a singing superstar, but her dreams are crushed when her band is rejected merely based on their appearance, before they could even perform for a popular talent show. So when an accident drenches her in pink color and sparkles, Thelma pretends to be a unicorn, becomes a viral sensation, and is on the path to global stardom. But what will happen if her fans find out she is not a real unicorn?!
Directed by Jared Hess and Lynn Wang, the 2024 Netflix animated film “Thelma The Unicorn” is based on a picture-book of the same name by Aaron Blabey. Brittany Howard voices the cheery Thelma, while Will Forte voices Thelma’s best-friend Otis, who looks like a slight variation of Donkey from the Shrek movies, but is a lot less loquacious, yet just as loyal. Their story opens with a comical “X-Factor”-like audition for a music festival called “Sparklepalooza”, where Thelma’s band is dismissed for not having “the look” needed for stars. But once Thelma disguises herself as a unicorn, the whole world starts paying attention to her.
Some parts of “Thelma The Unicorn” have the same energy as “Sing,” the animated musical, although its animation quality isn’t as top-notch or engaging. Also, the world-building in the movie, where animals and humans can communicate with each other and coexist happily, felt slightly strange to watch as an adult viewer. Thelma and her animal friends work on a farm, where one of their many tasks include milking cows, and my first thought was, “Wait, wouldn’t they be getting slaughtered eventually?!”. But since the story is primarily aimed at children, younger viewers might not catch the irony or absurdity of it all.
One of the most amusing characters in “Thelma The Unicorn” is Nikki Narwhal (voiced by Ally Dixon), a famous pop diva who feels threatened when Thelma becomes a viral sensation, despite Nikki’s song topping the music charts. Jemaine Clement voices Vic Diamond, a sleazy, predatory music manager who ensnares Thelma with promises of record deals, private jets, and more, causing the sweet pony to almost lose herself in the glamorously hollow world of showbiz. The script is filled with witty references that will go over kids’ heads but will amuse older viewers.
With a 93-minute runtime and plenty of songs—some catchy and cute, others randomly forgettable—”Thelma The Unicorn” might not be as funny or memorable as you’d hope, but it manages to be entertaining enough with its imposter theme and the usual “be true to yourself” message.
You can stream “Thelma The Unicorn” on Netflix.
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Blossom Campus Review – Love in a Bubble
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College student Kim Min Jae is a transfer student majoring in music. He prefers to keep to himself and has no friends by choice. While working part-time at the college library, he meets Yoon Chan, a Taekwondo major who begins to practically stalk Min Jae, insisting they become friends. When Min Jae finally accepts Yoon Chan’s offer of friendship, it becomes obvious that they might want to be more than just friends.
Directed by Kang Woo, the Korean romantic drama “Blossom Campus” (Beulreosseom Kaempeoseu – 블러썸캠퍼스) stars Son Byeong Hoon and debut actor Choi Dong Ho as leads Kim Min Jae and Yoon Chan. With just six episodes to boot, the series is a simple romance and almost looks like a student project due to the evident lack of budget for extras in the episodes. Even though there are plenty of college scenes, the library, classrooms and every campus corner featured in the series is always completely deserted. It’s like the protagonists exist in their own world, devoid of anybody else, although that’s an interesting way to look at the story.
One would think that “Blossom Campus” has been directed by a newbie, but Kang Woo has directed has been in the industry for years. I’ve seen his 2017 movie “Long Time Now See”, an action-romance which is solidly entertaining. If you like shows like “KinnPorsche”, you’d probably like “Long Time No See” too. In comparison, “Blossom Campus” is very vanilla, with an unnecessary third lead – Kim Yong Sol as Jung Woo Hyuk – who is also romantically interested in Kim Min Jae. The only other major character appearing in the series is a Professor (Jo Yoo Seok), who often counsels Kim Min Jae on his academic and personal matters, but their interactions border on being a wee-bit bizarre.
That said, Son Byeong Hoon and Choi Dong Ho make a great-looking visual couple, and a lot of their exchanges as Kim Min Jae and Yoon Chan are very cute in “Blossom Campus”. Despite the straightforward story, which is simply about two college students falling in love, Son Byeong displays a broad spectrum of emotions and poignantly shoulders the few emotionally charged scenes in the show. Choi Dong Ho’s character Yoon Chan on the other hand is completely one-dimensional, so there’s not much to do in the role, except to be cutesy and clingy, so he can win over his crush. The background music in the show pleasingly complements the soft-sweet romance blossoming between the leads throughout the episodes.
Surprisingly, the last episode ends on a weird cliffhanger, which makes the climax seem abrupt and jarring. At the same time, it ends on a note which promises a season two for “Blossom Campus”, so those who end up enjoying the show should have more to look forward too. If you don’t mind watching a series with good-looking leads and wafer-thin plot, this series is a decent one-time watch and could’ve been a lot more endearing as a short film.
You can stream “Blossom Campus” on iQIYI & Gagaoolala.
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May 20, 2024
BBC Docu ‘Burning Sun’ Peels Back K-pop’s Darker Layers
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South Korea has a specific word for illegally filmed footage, usually sexual in nature – “Molka”, simply because a lot of women have been victim to men blackmailing them over photos/videos shot without their consent to get away with various crimes. BBC documentary “Burning Sun: Exposing the secret K-pop chat groups” revisits how journalists broke the shocking story of how some popular K-pop idols were part of a secret chat group, where they would share details, videos, and photos of women they had sexually assaulted.
About one hour long, the documentary opens with a snazzy video of a K-pop song featuring Seungri, formerly a member of “BigBang,” a highly popular boy band. The scene then shifts to an abandoned building, once the premises of “Burning Sun,” one of the largest clubs in Seoul’s Gangnam district, owned by Seungri. It’s revealed that women visitors at the club were often drugged and then sent to “VIP” clients, who would then rape them. However, K-pop idols Seungri, Jung Joon-young, and their friends had been sexually exploiting and abusing women long before “Burning Sun” was established. The men shared sordid details of their crimes on a secret chat group, along with photos and videos of their victims, who’d often be unconscious.
Korean journalists Kang Kyung-yoon and Park Hyu-Sil, both women, guide viewers through their investigation into the exposure of Seungri, Jung Joon-young, and how they got away with their crimes for far too long courtesy the collusion of the police in the case. A lot of never-seen-before chats excerpts from the group are featured in the documentary, all damning evidence of not just the crime, but also the lurid joy these men took is abusing their victims.
Produced and directed by Kai Lawrence, “Burning Sun: Exposing the Secret K-pop Chat Groups” lives up to its name by swiftly demystifying the glamorous facade of the Korean music industry. Singers like Seungri and Jung Joon-young conceal their predatory nature under layers of makeup, glitter, and fake “soft-boy” personas. Both Kang Kyung-yoon and Park Hyu-Sil, faced severe online backlash from fans who refused to believe the news stories initially, but the journalists didn’t back down from their reportage.
This “Burning Sun” documentary not only exposes a handful of successful singers blatantly misusing their influence and clout but also serves as a distressing reminder of the skewed justice system that often puts victims at a disadvantage. Women in Korea have been demanding stricter laws and punishment against men who record sexual videos without their consent, against “molka” as they’d say, but it’s still a matter of ongoing debate in the country. Watch the documentary on YouTube.
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Anatomy of a Fall Review – Pushes You, Then Leaves You Hanging
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
When it comes to movies that are over the crisp 90-100 minute runtime, it’s become rare for some of us to not have the itch to push the fast-forward button multiple times and it is much rarer for my mum to not doze off at least once. So, when we streamed “Anatomy of a Fall” (Original title: Anatomie d’une chute) for a mother-daughter movie viewing, we were surprised with just how engrossing this deliberately paced, highly verbose crime thriller/court drama turned out to be.
Directed by Justine Triet, who co-wrote the script with Arthur Harari, “Anatomy of a Fall” (Anatomie d’une chute) follows the trials of successful author Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), who becomes a suspect when her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) is found dead outside their house. Forensics are unable to determine if he died due to suicide from a fall or was assaulted before being pushed out of the window. Sandra’s near-blind son, Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), the sole witness in the case, finds his perception of his parents’ relationship severely challenged during the trial.
In large parts, “Anatomy of a Fall” unfolds like a true-crime documentary, with the story focusing on every little detail pertaining to the day Sandra’s husband dies and the lawyers do a thorough postmortem of their marital relationship. Sandra Hüller is excellent as Sandra Voyter, a successful author, whose sexual preferences, past affairs and novels come under sharp scrutiny during the trial. It is implied that her success, ambition and disinterest in domestic chores drove a wedge between her and Samuel, the latter himself an aspiring novelist who just couldn’t get himself to finish anything worth publishing. The couple lives in a beautiful alpine chalet, surrounded by snowy peaks, but their relationship is far from as serene and tranquil as their surroundings.
Through its highly verbose court trial, “Anatomy of a Fall” maintains a tense suspense over what really happened to Samuel until the very end. Antoine Reinartz plays the indefatigable prosecution lawyer, who craftily attempts to present Sandra Voyter as a black widow who devours her lovers or only knows how to take from a relationship. Swann Arlaud, on the other hand, plays Sandra’s lawyer and longtime friend, who compellingly portrays Samuel (the dead husband) as a man more likely to take his own life for a whole host of reasons. The amusingly passive-aggressive court scenes are frequently juxtaposed with re-enactments depicting how Samuel fell to his death by investigators, adding a morbidly comical touch to the proceedings.
Granted, some viewers might find the 2 hour 31 minute long court drama slightly prolonged, but the back-and-forth arguments between lawyers and witnesses provide a riveting case study of how facts and events can be selectively presented to suit a particular agenda. What “Anatomy of a Fall” does best is depict the complexities of long-term relationships, and how challenging it can become for both partners to objectively view the struggles of the other party.
From its minimalist background track, sharp dialogues, and strong performances, “Anatomy of a Fall” is engaging through and through. My only gripe is with the climax, which, despite ending on a triumphant note for some crucial characters, doesn’t provide closure regarding what really happened to Samuel. Instead, it leaves the court trial proceedings for viewers to draw their own conclusions. Such open-ended climaxes can be satisfactory in many instances, but after the multiple recreations of the crime scene in “Anatomy of a Fall,” I was really hoping for a final reveal of the exact circumstances under which Samuel died.
“Sometimes a couple is kind of a chaos and everybody is lost. Sometimes we fight together and sometimes we fight alone, and sometimes we fight against each other, that happens,” Sandra Voyter describes her relationship with Samuel. “Anatomy of a Fall” illustrates this chaos through several instances, conversations, and recordings between the couple in question, leaving viewers to sift through the mess and piece together their own answers to what might have happened.
Rating: 8 on 10. You can stream the film on Prime Video.
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