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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