“Anatomy of a Fall” movie is a perceptive look into the tragic death in a family. The “Anatomie D’une Chute” is the original title of this thrilling crime drama in French.
We were impressed with its captivating storytelling. We get quite a few twists and turns in it. Not surprisingly, this highly acclaimed movie from France has won many awards.
Synopsis of the Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Movie
A woman named Sandra (Sandra Hüller) is suspected of her husband’s murder and their blind son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.
Ratings of the Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Movie
| FM Rating | 4.00/5 |
| FM Short Comments | How do Sandra’s family, friends, acquaintances, police, media, courts, and society at large react when her husband dies under tragic circumstances? That is what this multi-layered legal drama explores. It does so by smartly narrating its complex story. Kudos to its entire team – Writers, Directors, Editors, Actors and others for sharing this perceptive human drama. |
Spoiler Free Review of the Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Movie
The introduction
In the key opening scene of this French drama, we discover that Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) is lying dead in the snow, right outside the isolated chalet in the French Alps. The deceased Samuel lived with his wife Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) and their partially-sighted 11-year-old son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) in the said house on the hilltop.
Sandra Voyter: Sometimes a couple is kind of a chaos and everybody is lost. Sometimes we fight together and sometimes we fight alone, and sometimes we fight against each other, that happens.
So, what is the basic plotline of the film?
The French police start their criminal investigation into the unnatural and suspicious death of the Frenchman Samuel. However, their criminal case inquiry failed to reach any conclusion. They could not know for sure whether Samuel took his own life or was killed. Still, they treat his surviving wife Sandra as the main suspect. Later on, the court (justice department) gets involved and his German wife Sandra is implicated.
Sandra Voyter: Somebody said, of course money doesn't make you happy, but it's still better to cry in a car than in a subway.
Then the legal courtroom trial of Sandra takes over. With police try to prove that Sandra murdered Samuel. While her defence team tries to get her acquitted. The courtroom trial of Sandra puts the private life of the couple (and their son) under public scrutiny and immense pressure. The prosecutor, judge, police, media, and other players of society get involved in this tale of perception.
Even the son Daniel is caught in the middle, as he does not know who to trust. There are lots of doubts and uncertainty. With time they all creep into the storyline.
As the movie is about the search for truth, no real flashback is allowed by the writers. The only two in the movie, the quarrel and the car ride to the vet, are seen by the audience through the use of audio in the courtroom, either an audio recording or a vocal recollection. (~IMDb)
What did we love about this film?
We (the audience) are sailing on the same boat as Daniel. While watching this crime thriller, all of us grapple with our ideas, biases, perceptions, and deeply steeped belief systems. For us that is the beauty of its insightful but ambiguous script. This crime mystery is akin to many layers of onions. After we peel one layer, a fresh one takes over. And we loved this kind of astute script. It makes you think about its ending, as there is no closure, as such.
This movie was the winner of the Palme d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. It is the third film directed by a woman to be given the award, alongside Julia Ducournau's Titane (2021) film and Jane Campion's The Piano (1993) film.
The writers’ duo Justine Triet and Arthur Harari along with the director Justine Triet 🙂 and editor Laurent Sénéchal has done a tremendous job. They have told a great layered tale. The cinematographer Simon Beaufils uses shots of red blood against the stark white backdrop of the icy Alps mountains to paint a vivid picture among other evocative shots.
The lead actress Sandra Hüller (Sandra) is too good at it. In almost all of her scenes, her facial expressions and mannerisms were apt. Then, how can we forget the young talented actor Milo Machado Graner (Daniel) and his extremely expressive dog Messi (Snoop) in it? Both of them played their part perfectly. Undoubtedly, Sandra leads a good ensemble cast.
The actor for Daniel, the son, was very hard to find. The looked for him for four months, and came up with nothing, so they had to look again for three more months until they found Milo Machado-Graner. He then went into intensive piano lessons to get ready for the shooting. (~IMDb)
The conclusion
We loved the layered storyline of this enigmatic crime drama about the complexity of relationships even in a small nuclear family. The cold icy white mountains of the Alps add another dimension of loneliness to the story of a struggling writer. It is a wonderful psychological crime thriller to watch, so go for it, without an iota of doubt.
Posters of the Anatomie D’une Chute (2023) Anatomy of a Fall – Movie
Key Details – Anatomie D’une Chute (2023) Anatomy of a Fall – Movie
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Thriller, Mystery |
| Original title & language | Anatomie D’une Chute (means Anatomy of a Fall) French (a bit of English too) |
| Age-restrictions | A (18+)/R |
| Released | October, 2023 (Limited) |
| Duration | 2 hours 31 minutes |
| Writers | Justine Triet & Arthur Harari |
| Director | Justine Triet |
| Cast | Sandra Hüller (Sandra Voyter), Swann Arlaud (Maître Vincent Renzi), Milo Machado Graner (Daniel), Antoine Reinartz (Avocat Général), Samuel Theis (Samuel Maleski), Jehnny Beth (Marge Berger), Saadia Bentaïeb (Maître Nour Boudaoud), Camille Rutherford (Zoé Solidor), etc. |
| Distributor | NEON |
Trailer of the Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Movie
Top Awards won by Anatomie D’une Chute | Anatomy of a Fall – movie
| Award Names | Awards Categories & Awards Winners |
|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | Palme d’Or – Justine Triet (2023 Winner) Palm Dog – Messi, as Snoop (2023 Winner) |
| British Independent Film Awards | Best International Independent Film -Justine Triet, Arthur Harari, Marie-Ange Luciani & David Thion (2023) |
| European Film Awards | University Film Award – European – Justine Triet (2023 Winner) Director – European – Justine Triet (2023 Winner) Actress – European – Sandra Hüller (2023 Winner) Editor – European – Laurent Sénéchal (2023 Winner) Screenwriter – European – Justine Triet & Arthur Harari (2023 Winner) Film – European – Justine Triet, Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion (2023 Winner) |
| Golden Globes, USA | Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language (2024 Winner) Best Screenplay, Motion Picture – Justine Triet & Arthur Harari (2024 Winner) |
Featured Image & Poster – Anatomie D’une Chute | Anatomy of a Fall | Pics. Credit NEON