Anatomy of a Fall Review | Long Way Down

Anatomy of a Fall, this year’s winner of the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes, is a rigorous, and surprisingly emotional, procedural where all of the facts are opened to interpretation. In fact, some of those “facts” might not be “facts” at all. The only thing that is for certain in the latest film from director and co-writer Justine Triet (Victoria, Sibyl) is that something awful happened, and no amount of digging for answers and accountability will ever square the situation. Anatomy of a Fall questions whether or not a shocking death was accidental, inevitable, or homicidal in nature, but regardless of the outcome, everyone touched by the situation is forever altered. It’s an intricate, highly detailed work from top to bottom; capable of riveting the viewer through the simple emotional weight of it all.

German author Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) has been indicted and charged with the murder of her husband, Samuel (Samuel Theis) at the mountainside chalet in France they shared with their vision-impaired son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), and loyal dog, Snoop. The incident that left Samuel dead and bloodied in the snow below a window in a room he was renovating has been the subject of intense speculation. Sandra insists the fall that killed Samuel had to be an accident. There’s evidence in Samuel’s depressive past that could point to a potential suicide. The police don’t buy into either of those options. There’s evidence of potential blunt force trauma, some implausible blood splatter at the scene, and a secret recording of an argument from the day before between Samuel and Sandra that could seal her fate.

Triet’s approach to the traditional trappings of a courtroom drama are both highly detailed and almost casually observant. Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari know precisely where they want to direct the viewer’s attention, placing them almost in the shoes of an omnipresent jury member. Anatomy of a Fall isn’t so much about the pursuit of the truth or finding a sense of justice, but rather in parsing meaning from an awful, complicated, and depressing situation. Based on what the viewer sees and learns along the way, the numerous facets of Sandra’s case are open to interpretation, with known facts coming with different kinds of emotions and motivations that are capable of explaining any number of theses. 

All that’s certain is that Sandra’s family carried a fair amount of guilt, grief, and resentment before things turned deadly. Triet’s main question to examine isn’t about the nature of assigning blame, but of the gently mounting weight of consequences that ripple and swell over time. Sandra and her husband exhibited a substantial amount of professional jealousy between them, but is that more of a mitigating factor than someone in a relationship cheating? Does parsing their written works provide any real evidence as to what could’ve happened outside the page, and is any of that fiction even relevant? Their son’s ocular condition has always been a point of contention and sorrow between them, but was its festering something that pushed Samuel over the edge mentally? Were Samuel’s reactions to recent events natural or were they purposefully manipulative, petty, and hurtful?

It spoils nothing to say that no one will ever truly know the answers to any exacting degree, even after the trial has wrapped up. Anatomy of a Fall isn’t as cold and calculating as the title, synopsis, and visual style might suggest on a passing glance. It is an anatomy lesson of sorts in the sense that it takes the form of a trial as an elongated post-mortem of a marriage in decline. The metaphorical diseases, infections, and scars can be seen and logged as evidence, but the exact cause of death can’t be determined. It’s heart wrenching to behold, regardless of where the viewer might fall when it comes to examining Sandra’s guilt.

Triet’s focus is unwavering, and the script allows the story to unfold at a natural, measured pace with sharply written and observant writing. Both Sandra’s lawyer (Swann Arlaud) and the prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz) are asking all the right questions of the witnesses and professionals, and the writing of the courtroom scenes are so fully realized that the viewer is able to gain insight into the very thought process that propels the trial forward. Sequences where Daniel’s shrink is cross examined and moments when Sandra is forced to interject and defend herself (often in a language that she has limited understanding of) bristle with tension. Anatomy of a Fall might be following a formula, but Triet has found a way to frame her story in a rich, layered way. Anatomy of a Fall is always stressful to behold, regardless of whether or not Sandra is telling the truth.

Triet’s material soars even further thanks to Hüller’s tremendously compelling and balanced leading performance. Regardless of where Sandra finds herself on the character’s emotional spectrum at any given point in the story (both past and present), Hüller’s performance is like a fastball pitched straight down the middle. If Sandra is truly evil in her intentions or covering up for a tragic lapse in judgment, the viewer wouldn’t ever be able to know just by looking at her. Hüller shows Sandra’s devotion as a mother and her profession of innocence to be equally as powerful. She builds so much sympathy that many viewers might question if any degree of guilt might be excusable. It’s a weighty, sticky, and captivating performance that rightfully becomes Triet’s centrepiece, but a wealth of credit also deserves to go to young Graner, whose extraordinary turn as Sandra’s son is just as compelling. As the child caught in the middle of warring parents and a case that often places his needs front and centre in terms of motivation, Graner makes the viewer bear witness to his last traces of boyish innocence being washed away in rivers of tears.

If there’s any major issue with Anatomy of a Fall, it comes towards the very end, which feels like it’s giving in to cliches in a bid to go out on a high note. It doesn’t dampen the overall effect of the film, but Triet’s need to soften some blows down the stretch are sometimes questionable in the shadows of all the heaviness that led to that point. It’s not a bad ending because it’s all well reasoned and mapped out ahead of time, but the execution isn’t on the same level of everything that proceeded it. None of that will change the fact that Anatomy of a Fall is the kind of movie that has been crafted to ensure it sticks in the viewer’s mind long after it ends, which is appropriate since the characters caught within the story itself would spend the rest of their lives trying to answer the same questions as the audience.

Anatomy of a Fall is now playing in Toronto at Cineplex Varsity and TIFF Bell Lightbox. It expands to additional theatres across Canada on Friday, October 27, 2023.