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Anatomy of a Fall is more than a courtroom drama as it acts as an exploration of guilt in marriage and how women can be held responsible for the action of the men in their lives. Sandra Hüller is outstanding as Justine Triet’s sharp storytelling keeps audiences on the edge of their seat. 

Police procedural and courtroom drama films have often felt similar in their unfolding, but Anatomy of a Fall flips the genre on its head with refreshing storytelling, incredible performances, and gripping direction. Justine Triet never allows the film to just be any one type of film, it’s gripping, unnerving, and methodical throughout as it eases between various genres. Anatomy of a Fall combines family drama, murder mystery, and courtroom procedural to create one of the most tense, remarkable achievements of the year led by a commanding performance from Sandra Hüller.

Sandra (Hüller) is living an ordinary life as a writer, mother, and wife as her family has recently moved from their home in London to a remote chalet in France, close to her husband’s hometown. Sandra becomes isolated in the chalet where she has no one but her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) and their son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner). Sandra has written several novels, slightly adapted from their own lives, and Samuel has spent his time homeschooling Daniel, teaching, and renovating the chalet as he put his own writing career on hold. The film begins as Sandra has a grad student, Zoé (Camille Rutherford), over for an interview and Samuel makes his presence known despite never appearing on screen as he blasts an instrumental cover of ‘P.I.M.P.’ by 50 Cent. Zoé cuts their interview short as the music becomes suffocating, perhaps just as Samuel intended. Sandra retreats to her bedroom to do some work and take a nap while Daniel takes their dog, Snoop, for a walk. Upon returning from their walk, Snoop,the perfect guide dog, knows something is wrong immediately as they’re outside their home. He runs off screen and Daniel is confused as to what could be wrong. He moves forward and feels his father’s body lying on the ground in the snow. He screams for his mother over the loud song still blasting. Sandra runs to her son not knowing what could be wrong and seems him outside and then sees her husband. 

Family friend, Vincent (Swann Arlaud), is called and acts as Sandra’s lawyer. Vincent is the audience’s first indication into the possibility the police may suspect Sandra of her husband’s death. Arlaud is incredible as he subtly walks a fine line of being a comfort but also navigating as a lawyer who needs to have an answer for everything. Over time, the police and investigators come to the chalet to scope for evidence, do recreations of the fall, and question both Sandra and Daniel. A court-appointed guardian, Marge (Jehnny Beth) is assigned to stay with Daniel as he’s a witness in the trial and the court wants to take no chances with his testimony being swayed.  As the film progresses and finally arrives at the trial, tensions are high. Triet and Arthur Harari guide the film almost as the most unreliable narrator. You can never believe what you’re seeing just on what is in front of you, there’s always more to it or another angle. The prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz) is hellbent on showing Sandra as evil from using her bisexuality as an excuse for her wanting her husband out of her life to blaming her husband for their son’s accident to wanting to write a book based on his death for profits. 

Anatomy of a Fall highlights various ways Samuel could have died from hitting his head on a shed after jumping from the window to Sandra hitting him over the head with an object and then pushing him out, but where the film soars is when a recording is presented giving the courtroom, and the audience, an insight into what their marriage was. The argument between this married couple, only the day before Samuel’s death, is brutal and full of contempt from Samuel towards Sandra. The struggle of many couples, both real and fictional, is the splitting of the load. Not just finances, but who does the laundry? Who does the grocery shopping and cooks dinner? Who drops off and picks up the kids from school? While this sounds mundane and boring, only someone in a long-term or married relationship can truly explain how frustrating and consuming these questions become overtime. A healthy couple will discuss these grievances and move on with their lives together, however, Samuel holds this all inside and despises Sandra for what he feels is an imbalance. You can hear the hatred in his voice as he spews at Sandra for her time to write, something he envies. 

Sandra thinks she’s committed to being a mother and when she’s not caring for her son, she’s writing or working on her translations. Samuel, however, chose to move the family to the isolated chalet in his hometown and it needed repairs, so he chose to take that task on, which eats into his free time. He isn’t able to write because he needs to make money, so he teaches, which he hates. This all comes together for a perfect storm for Samuel to resent Sandra with every fiber of his being. Contempt, resentment, and anger all come together for this blowout between a couple, that ended up being their own closing arguments. The argument feels so authentic and real not just because of the pitch perfect performances on display, but the sharp, vivid writing from a real-life couple. 

Hüller is outstanding and gives one of the most powerful performances of the year. Her body language, facial expressions, and delivery of every line keeps you guessing as to who she really is. Machado-Graner is other worldly as he walks a fine line of being a child grieving the loss of a parent, but also discovering the truth of his father’s death and who is mother is or could be. His performance is heartbreaking, consuming and is the true heart of the film. Machado-Graner should easily be in every single supporting actor line up of the year. Arlaud is the calculating, cool (and sexy) lawyer you can never quite put your finger on exactly what he’s thinking. He’s the perfect counterpart to Hüller. 

Anatomy of a Fall opens so strongly by not giving us backstory on the family and their lives but showing us what started as a normal day progressed into something utterly tragic and lifechanging. We learn about their lives and who they are as individuals outside of husband/father, mother/wife, and son as the film unfolds. Anatomy of a Fall is more than a courtroom drama as it acts as an exploration of guilt in marriage and how women can be held responsible for the action of the men in their lives. Was Samuel’s death an accident? Did he jump on purpose? …or was he pushed? The film does anything but answer the question and that’s exactly why this film soars. 

Grade: A

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actress (Sandra Hüller), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing
Should be Considered: Best Supporting Actor (Milo Machado-Graner), Best Cinematography

Where to Watch: In Select Theaters