Anatomy Of A Fall - Movie Review
Anatomy Of A Fall - Movie Review
Critics Score - 8 of 10
General Audience Score - 8 of 10
SYNOPSIS - As our movie opens, we see a wooden staircase inside a home, we hear two women speaking, one asks the other, “What do you want to know?”. We watch as a tennis ball bounces down the steps, a black and white sheepdog runs down to fetch it as one of the women continues to interview Sandra (Sandra Hüller), off camera. The scene cuts, we’re taken upstairs and introduced to Sandra’s son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), he’s trying to get the dog we just met, Snoop, into a small bathtub. We head back downstairs and watch as the interview continues, Sandra is a writer and she’s talking about her inspiration for some of the stories and books she’s written. As we cut back upstairs, Daniel sniffs Snoop before beginning to rub him with a towel to dry him off when suddenly we begin to hear an instrumental version of the 50 Cent song P.I.M.P., by the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band playing in the background. As the two women continue to converse downstairs, the music upstairs intensifies to the point the volume level makes it difficult not only for us to hear what they’re saying, but for them to keep speaking, so they agree to postpone their interview for the time being. Daniel takes Snoop outside for a walk and we’re made privy to the beautiful, rustic, snow covered cabin set high up in the mountains that the family occupies. As Daniel walks the dog, we notice he wears specially designed black sunglasses and after we see him throwing sticks straight ahead without looking and the way he holds Snoop’s leash, we begin to clue in that Daniel is blind.
As Daniel returns home, we begin to hear the same 50 Cent cover blasting when suddenly upon coming around the corner to the front of their cabin, Snoop pulls away and runs ahead. As the camera follows and pans down, we see a dark haired man lying face up on the ground, his head surrounded in blood, the red stains on the white snow are unseen by Daniel who keeps walking ahead until his boot bumps into the man’s body. As he bends down and lays his hands on the man’s dark blue sweater, Daniel begins yelling “Mama!” repeatedly, the dog begins barking and the boy begins sobbing as his mother, Sandra, finally appears out of a side balcony door and runs down to see what is happening. We’re given shots of the interior of the home as the steel drums continue to ring in our ears, finally we see the upstairs room with two large triangle windows, the right one is open wide, just before we’re given the aerial view camera shot that the film’s poster above is derived from. Medics arrive and police comb over the scene to determine what happened, eventually the body is examined and because of a large wound to the head, the cause of death is inconclusive and Sandra is indicted for her husband’s murder. A lawyer friend of the family is contacted for help and Maître Renzi (Swann Arlaud) enters the picture to give Sandra legal counsel with the ongoing investigation. Near the beginning of the second act, we skip ahead one year to the actual courtroom proceedings and the rest of the film covers these events. But as the story progresses, the proceedings commence and the trial ramps up, this riveting script just sucks you in and builds momentum right up to a finale that’ll have you on the edge of your seat.
To start with the props for this film, I have to mention two women, the writer and director Justine Triet and the actress who plays the main protagonist, Sandra Hüller. First the direction of the film is highly impressive work, although Triet has written and directed a few other projects that I’m not familiar with, the way this film is shot, paced and constructed is truly incredible. I will say that although the film is cinematic and there is some nice camera work on display, some of the camera angles used inside the courtroom threw me off, a few were even a bit blurry at times. One shot in particular were our view is partially obstructed by another person, as if we were sitting in the audience, I guessed was possibly trying to give the impression that we were watching a live news coverage piece of the trial, but I wasn’t exactly sure why that strategy was used. I will also say that this screenplay is a bit better than the direction, and that’s only because there is so much dialogue, so much back and forth courtroom drama, it boggled the mind. Even though it’s not Aaron Sorkin level material, it might be considered Sorkin light, but the sheer volume of dialogue, and how Triet manages it without it bloating the film and slowing it down, was truly staggering. The second pillar holding up this monumental achievement was Sandra Hüller, her performance was outstanding, even with it being a bit subdued for some portions of the film, but it was so strong of a show, I felt I was immediately forced to put her among my favorites of the year. The rest of the cast as well, especially the young actor Milo Graner who plays the blind son Daniel, all pulled their weight incredibly well. While a two and a half hour courtroom drama might not sound all that thrilling, I kid you not when I say that this film sweeps you up, blows you away and by the finale, you’ll likely be as captivated as you will at any other film you’re likely to see this year.
SUMMARY - If you’re a big fan of cinema, and just from the fact you’ve read this far in some random dudes movie review blog about a foreign film tells me you are, this is a movie from 2023 you don’t want to miss. Dissecting this Anatomy not only instructed me about a Fall, but about why international cinema is quickly becoming one of the things I love the most about movies in general.
Comments
Post a Comment