Grade: A
Anatomy of a Fall is a character study, courtroom drama, and (potential) true crime/murder mystery all in one. It’s roughly a 50/50 split between English and French with subtitles. A man has fallen out his third story attic window to his death. His 11-year-old son, coming home from walking the dog, discovers the body – belly up, with blood from the back of his head seeping into the mountain snow. His wife Sandra (Sandra Hüller) was the only other one home at the time. She maintains that she didn’t kill him, but naturally, she becomes the subject of an investigation, as it’s a suspicious death.
The movie begins by showing us the URL didshedoit.com, so it’s not really a spoiler to say we never find out what really happened. I visited the website to cast my vote, but not without hesitation. The option I chose was in the minority, and I’m not completely settled on it. It’s really quite ingenious how director Justine Triet (who also shares a writing credit with Arthur Harari) leaves the solution open to our interpretation. I can imagine a lesser movie where the outcome has already been decided for us, and we’d see it in a series of shots that gives us a definitive answer and ties everything up. Boring.
A myriad of angles and perspectives are introduced, in which we can consider everything. A few people we hear from include forensic experts, the family lawyer friend, and the late husband’s psychologist – each bringing another layer to the table. The differences between French and American court are strikingly noticeable. In this film, there’s a row of 7-10 official-looking people sitting in front of microphones, like a senate hearing. That, coupled with their black-and-white (or red-and-white) outfits, made me think of the Volturi organization from the Twilight books. Antoine Reinartz plays the prosecutor, in one of my favorite performances in the movie. His color scheme is R&W. He has a buzz cut and the slimy bloodthirstiness of a Shakespeare villain – and, in fact, he reminds me of a regular actor with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company. If you’re familiar with this troupe, see the film and let me know who you think I’m talking about.
All of this is anchored by the interesting, dedicated work of Sandra Hüller, who made me think of Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton. Specific moments will hit you differently depending on which side you’re on. And your side may change, the more you ruminate on what you saw, or in repeat viewings, or in discussions amongst friends where you ask each other what they think happened and why. Anatomy of a Fall is a hypnotic, fascinating master stroke. They gave us this movie. Now it’s our turn to finish it.
Grade: A
Film Reviews by Mark 
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