Anatomy Of A Fall Review: A Marriage On Trial

Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes International Film Festival, Anatomy of a Fall arrives with high praise from the festival circuit. I saw it in September as part of Telluride by the Sea in New Hampshire, where it was compared to Bergman’s Scenes From a Marriage filtered through Agatha Christie.

Set in a wintry, mountainous region of France, a European family experiences a tragic loss when the father, Samuel (Samuel Theis) falls to his death from a window loft of the family’s home. His wife Sandra (Sandra Hüller) is napping in the house when this occurs, while their 11-year-old son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner) is out walking their dog. Through an investigation, the police come to suspect Sandra of his death, and thus, a trial ensues, exposing their marriage to the harshest of spotlights, with Daniel as a key witness.

Director Justine Triet, along with her co-writer Arthur Harari, have crafted a well-balanced and intricate story that is hyper-focused on the details, as the film title suggests.

While it is interested in getting to where the truth lies, it does not tip its hand as to whether the fall was an accident or whether it was a murder. There is compelling evidence in both directions; while it is a mystery, the film is a family and courtroom drama more than a whodunit thriller.

What makes this approach work is that the film drills down so much into the procedural nature of an investigation and courtroom proceedings that the inner machinations of the characters are almost secondary. The film takes a real “Just the facts, ma’am” approach to its content. What it reveals by doing this is that facts can be tricky things, as much as or more than the actual motivations of characters.

In his initial retelling of the events he witnessed, Daniel, who is legally blind, is completely convinced of what he heard and felt when he left to walk their dog. When the police attempt to recreate the details that Daniel describes, it causes him to change his story. Is that because he was not as confident in his memory as he originally thought or because he realized something as he recreated the moment and is worried about losing a second parent?

Sandra Hüller made a name for herself internationally a few years back with Toni Erdmann, and the film works as well as it does on the strength of her central performance. She is constantly in the spotlight, facing repeated recriminations and having every aspect of her marriage, her work as an author, and other aspects of her personal life scrutinized and dissected. She imbues her character with great poise, quiet resolve, and determination under the public glare of an investigation and trial.

Really, the entire cast is terrific. Machado-Graner, as the son and only witness outside of his defendant mother, carries a heavy burden, and a lot hinges on his observations. He also learns a lot more about his parents than either of them would have wanted. At a crucial moment in the film, he conducts a scientific experiment that has a vital impact on the trial's outcome.

The courtroom scenes are riveting, aided by the defense lawyer (Swann Arlaud) and the aggressive prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz). Anyone who is a fan of courtroom dramas will appreciate this film. The film is hyper-focused on the details, too, going through the fine points of investigating a scene, re-enacting the fall, and trying to get to the ever-elusive truth of this family tragedy.

One thing the film uses to great effect is the language barrier. Sandra is German, Samuel is French, and they often spoke to each other in English. In the French court, they insist on speaking in the trial as much in French as possible for the public record.

This frequently hamstrings and flusters Sandra and is a genuine impediment. Still, she mostly maintains the patience of a saint in trying to maneuver the obstacle course that these barriers create. The film does a masterful job of incorporating the blending of languages and making it a vital part of its storytelling.

I loved how the marriage is essentially put on trial through her trial. No marriage is without its issues, as humans are messy and flawed; as a result, their relationships are messy and require work and constant communication. All aspects of their relationship are put under a microscope, including infidelities, ownership of ideas in professional collaborations, and ugly fights. It is all fair game in the courtroom, and the film shows how the perception of those elements of a relationship can be skewed, both to people outside of it and maybe also within it.

Anatomy of a Fall is a lengthy film at over two and a half hours, but it is a tight affair where almost no moment on screen is wasted; it all matters, and it is captivating throughout. It is one of the finer courtroom dramas with many legal twists and turns to keep the audience engaged in its cleverly drawn premise.

Simply put, it is one of the year’s best.