Hello there film fans, guess who? Yep, it’s me, Slick Dungeon, back to review another Oscar nominated film. This time we’ll be diving into the intense crime and courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. There will be spoilers in this review so if you don’t like that, head to your snow covered chalet, pop on the movie, give it a watch and then head on back here to read the review. Also, quick warning for anyone who needs it, this film deals with suicide, domestic violence and potential murder so if that sort of thing is triggering to you, stay away from the movie and the review.

What’s it About

Anatomy of a Fall is a French crime thriller and courtroom drama. A family of three live in an isolated chalet near Grenoble, France. There is a husband, a wife, a visually impaired boy, and his guide dog, Snoop.

The wife is Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) who is a well known novelist. Her husband is Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) and her son is Daniel Maleski (Milo Machado-Graner).

The movie starts with Sandra being interviewed by a woman curious to know about Sandra’s writing. Not long into the interview loud music starts playing from the upper part of the chalet. Sandra attempts to continue for a while with the woman and does so in what might even be considered a flirtatious manner. But eventually she gives up because the sound is simply too loud.

We then see Daniel go out for a walk with his dog. When he returns Daniel finds the body of his father, bloody and in the snow. Daniel shouts for help, although it takes a while for Sandra to hear him because the loud music is still going. Sandra rushes down the stairs and immediately calls for help.

The rest of the film takes us on a journey to discover what happened in the moments between the interviewer leaving and Daniel finding the body of his father. It unfolds like a true crime documentary in a lot of ways. We see the polices asking questions, Sandra hires a lawyer, and investigations continue. Sandra, for her part, proclaims her innocence but there are a few suspicious things.

First, Sandra has bruises on her wrist. Second, the autopsy concludes that the impact to the head of the husband could have been made before he fell out of the window where they know Samuel was. Finally, Daniel is sure he heard his parents talking in a calm manner before he left for his walk but when they try to reenact this, he can’t hear it from where he says he was.

Ultimately, Sandra is charged with murder but the situation is highly complicated. First, while Sandra speaks French, she is a native German and mostly speaks English in her day to day life. This means it will be difficult for her to fully convey her side of the story in French. Second, and more importantly, Daniel is considered a witness in the case but since Sandra has not yet been found guilty of anything, she is free to keep living with Daniel. This brings up the potential conflict that Sandra could be in a position to try to unduly influence Daniel’s testimony. Therefore, the court assigns a monitor to stay in the house and now Sandra has to speak in French even to her son. Her son is fluent in French so that is no problem for him but it’s not as easy for Sandra.

The movie then basically shifts entirely to a courtroom drama where more and more is revealed about Sandra’s life and marriage. There is some audio that sounds extremely damning because the couple are heard having a heated argument that ends up with some violence. And this is where Sandra finally admits she got the bruise. Obviously that doesn’t look good to the court.

Sandra’s lawyers are trying to argue that Samuel was depressed and decided to kill himself. They have some evidence that might lead one in that direction, including a possible earlier suicide attempt.

A lot more happens in between but basically the film leads us to the point where Daniel will need to testify in court. Even he is not sure of what happened and it’s basically up to him to decide if he thinks his father killed himself or his mother murdered his father. An utterly heartbreaking thing for any kid to have to ever face.

Daniel suspects he has a way to prove whether his mom was lying about earlier testimony but it does involve nearly poisoning his own dog. He performs the experiment and don’t worry, the dog lives. But this consolidates things in Daniel’s mind. Ultimately he decides it makes less sense that his mother killed his father than for his father to have killed himself.

Ultimately, Sandra is acquitted and is able to go free and reunite with Daniel.

The film really does feel like watching a true crime documentary but with being able to be let in on all the emotional impact it has on the main characters. Sandra Hüller completely shines here bringing nuance and emotion that allows the audience to be on her side while still being unsure if she committed the crime. The film doesn’t let the audience off easily either as there is never a reveal of what exactly happened and like many of the best true crime documentaries, the audience must decide for themselves what really happened.

It’s easy to see why this is up for so many awards and it is one of the best courtroom dramas I have seen in a while. It’s definitely one of the best International films of the year but it may not quite have the oomph to compete with other films in the categories it is up for.

The Awards

To me, it’s odd that this one is not up for Best International Film but that is not one of the categories where it got the nod. Let’s take a look at what it did get nominated for.

Best Actress

Sandra Hüller is up for Best Actress here. She was wonderful in this role and she is playing an extremely complicated person who has to speak and emote in multiple languages and Hüller makes it look effortless. I was never entirely sure if I should be on her side or not and that was clearly intentional. She is up against Annette Benning for Nyad, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Emma Stone for Poor Things and Carey Mulligan for Maestro. Sandra Hüller did a fabulous job but the competition in this category really comes down to Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone.

Directing

This was great directing. The most impactful moments come as a surprise both visually and emotionally. The pacing is good enough to keep us paying attention while still allowing us to process a very complicated situation. Unfortunately for this film it is up against major competition. It’s up against Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest and, of course, Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. I’d be surprised if Anatomy of a Fall gets the award but I would love to see more films directed by Justine Triet.

Film Editing

There is no doubt this film has great editing. The audience would not be left in such doubt over what happened if the editing wasn’t fantastic. The pacing can feel a little slow but by the end it seems to pay off by leaving the audience guessing. But, yet again this film has heavy hitting competition. I am calling this one for Oppenheimer. The other nominees are The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Poor Things.

Best Picture

While Anatomy of a Fall is a good film and I would recommend it for a lot of people, this was not the best film of the year. It’s definitely Oppenheimer to win in this category and I would be genuinely surprised if this one wins over it. I’ve reviewed a lot of the films in this category but I still have a few more to go so keep an eye out for those up to the Oscars themselves.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Here’s a category where Anatomy of a Fall is quite strong. But it does still have some major competition. It’s up against The Holdovers which is moving, dramatic, and funny all at once, May December which is a bit of a melodrama but no doubt well written, Maestro which tells the story of composer Leonard Bernstein, and Past Lives which tells a very personal story. In this category I think the top three are Maestro, Anatomy of a Fall, and The Holdovers. And at this point, I strongly suspect The Holdovers has the best case to make here. If The Holdovers doesn’t win, then Anatomy of a Fall definitely should win.

In Conclusion

Anatomy of a Fall is a refreshing crime drama with plenty of ambiguity and great acting. There are genuinely shocking reveals that change the direction of the film and reposition all of the main characters in an instant. It’s absolutely a film worth watching if you tend to like true crime (it’s not based on any actual case it just feels like it) and want something that leaves you guessing just enough without insulting you. The acting is fantastic and I absolutely guarantee you will continue to think about this one long after you watch it.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon