There’s hardly a more classic form of cinema than the courtroom drama. Whether as a tightly crafted and dense narrative or just an excuse to see various actors all deliver incisive dialogue in angry tones, rarely does a film of this ilk disappoint. It's equally fascinating to see a film like this from a different country, given the differing legal standards around the world, especially as a showcase for some of the best acting and filmmaking talents from outside the U.S. This is all to say “Anatomy of a Fall” is not just a great example of those two aspects, but one of the best films of the year.
The film follows a court case surrounding Sandra Voyter, played by Sandra Hüller (“The Zone of Interest,” “I’m Your Man”), who is suspected of possibly murdering her husband university professor Samuel Maleski, played by Samuel Theis (“Un village français,” “The Princess of Montpensier”), after his fall from the second story of their mountain home. She enlists in the help of her friend and lawyer Vincent, played by Swann Arlaud (“By the Grace of God,” “Bloody Milk”), to help build her case and help look after her son Daniel, played by Milo Machado-Graner (“Waiting for Bojangles,” “Stuck Together”), in the midst of the trial.
Hüller is absolutely magnetic, perfectly setting up the ultimate Schrodinger’s cat of a performance. The entire film hinges on the central idea of if she did or did not actually kill her husband, and her performance never gives any indications either way. It’s a masterful role that keeps the central plate of the film’s ideas spinning amongst its many other spinning plates. Likewise, Arlaud essentially plays the straight man to her character, maintaining the level of logical deductions and realism needed to balance against her anxieties and frustrations with the circumstances.
Given the fairly simple production design and settings, cinematographer Simon Beaufils (“Saturn Bowling,” “Astrakan”) does an excellent job staging the entire film for maximum suspicion and dramatic effect. It feels as though every other moment could reveal a new piece of information that could dramatically change the entirety of the film’s events. That’s not just due to the staging but the excellent script from writer/director Justine Triet (“Sibyl,” “In Bed with Veronica”) and writer Arthur Harari (“Sibyl,” “Dark Inclusion”). The layers are complex, but it all comes back to the ideas of perception and truth, filtered through Sandra and her son.
By funneling the normal feelings of anxiety and courtroom drama directly through Sandra and her relationship with Daniel, it allows the film to hit much harder than it otherwise might. It’s the direct familial connections that lay the groundwork for each gut punch of a moment. Triet is also not afraid to get out of the courtroom when necessary, and there are large swaths of the movie spent outside of the courtroom, watching the impacts of the trial spiral throughout Sandra’s life.
Most importantly, the film never feels like a drag. That’s partly because, despite the two-and-a-half-hour runtime, things move briskly and smoothly from moment to moment, keeping the beats up and excitement high. It's also because it is a remarkably funny movie, with plenty of amusing bits of wordplay and sly humor. It ends up feeling like one of those kinds of dramas that feels “real” without feeling dire or overbearing.
There’s plenty going on under the hood of this taught, very amusing, very dramatic, very French drama, and it culminates in being one of the best films of the year and one of the best dramas in recent memory. Hüller is phenomenal, carrying the film amongst plenty of other phenomenal performances, and everything truly builds to a conclusion that feels remarkably satisfying in all the ways even the best movies like this normally struggle with. It’s just a phenomenal, fantastic film. 5/5
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