Anatomy of a Fall (2023) | Dir. Justine Triet
Courtesy of mk2 Films
Written by: Belle McIntyre
The fact that this taut mystery/courtroom drama was written by the director during the time of Covid explains how the sense of isolation is so realistically rendered and resonant today. The isolation of the location in a solitary chalet on the side of a snow-covered mountain near Grenoble, Switzerland is mirrored in the remoteness of the members of the family inhabiting the chalet. The parents Sandra (Sandra Huller) and Samuel (Samuel Theis) are both writers, generally a solitary occupation. Their 11-year old son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) is partially blind due to an injury of the optic nerve, home schooled, and whose only companion is a soulful border collie named Snoop.
Courtesy of mk2 Films
Marital strains are evident from the opening scene which involves Sandra being interviewed by worshipful young female journalist. They are enjoying themselves and drinking wine until suddenly they are blasted with impossibly loud music controlled by her husband from his work space on the third floor. Words are exchanged but the music persists until the journalist leaves. Daniel has gone outside to walk with the dog and get away from the passive aggressive behavior. When he returns he sees Samuel splayed on the snowy ground with blood coming from a wound on his head. The window from his work space is open in line with the body on the ground. It looks like an accident at first glance. Or a suicide? A murder?
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The police do not accept it at face value and they have questions. The blow to the head is the cause of death and can be explained by a protruding part of the chalet which could have fatally interrupted the fall. The investigators posit that the blow to the head could have been dealt before the fall and he could have been pushed out the window. Suddenly Sandra finds herself a suspect and a defendant in a murder case.
The courtroom is where all of the action takes place. As the layers are peeled away to reveal the marital dynamics of guilt, competitiveness, jealousy, resentment, infidelity. There are multiple scenarios which are all equally compelling. Sandra’s lawyer Vincent (Swann Arlaud) seems to have feelings for Sandra beyond professional, as he leads her and protects her from self-incrimination. The court-enforced barrier between mother and son in the form of a monitor who is with Daniel at all times to prevent manipulation seems extreme. The Swiss judicial system is nothing if not thorough. They are serious.
Courtesy of mk2 Films
The most revelatory details come from the memory of Daniel, as he processes moments he had witnessed with a child’s naivete and now with a new perspective in a new context. Sandra has held it together with a seemingly steely-reserve until the end when she lets all of her fear and pain come cascading out in a stunningly unforgettable performance. But it is Daniel whose courtroom speech seals the case even as it embraces the impossible to ignore ambiguities. It is not neatly tied up which is it’s strength and what will linger on in the imagination. We sometimes have to choose our truth.
