{"id":21248,"date":"2023-12-31T18:05:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-31T23:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21248"},"modified":"2023-12-31T18:05:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-31T23:05:29","slug":"anatomy-of-a-fall-a-fascinating-probe-of-innocence-and-guilt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21248","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Anatomy of a Fall\u2019 Film Review \u2013 A Fascinating Probe of Innocence and Guilt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crime makes for compelling cinema for a number of reasons. It\u2019s not typically clear right away who the culprit is, and the journey to that discovery, filled with red herrings and unexpected twists and turns, can make even a mundane setup interesting. There are a range of themes and tones possible within the crime genre, and the courtroom drama has its own appeal. Anatomy of a Fall<\/em><\/strong> takes that familiar concept a step further in its dissection of the circumstances surrounding the death of a husband and father who, by all appearances, has been murdered by his wife.<\/p>\n

Sandra Voyter (Sandra H\u00fcller) lives with her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) and their eleven-year-old blind son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) in a cozy country home in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead, Sandra quickly becomes the prime suspect. She insists, however, that she isn\u2019t responsible, and takes steps to prove her innocence with the assistance of her friend Vincent Renzi (Swann Arlaud), who serves as her primary legal counsel. As the trial begins, the most intimate details of Sandra\u2019s life are revealed in a public forum that seems set on finding her guilty.<\/p>\n

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Anatomy of a Fall <\/em><\/strong>has enjoyed a rapturous reception since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it won the Palme d\u2019Or. Though it was not selected by France as its official Oscar submission for Best International Feature \u2013 that mention went instead to The Taste of Things<\/em><\/strong><\/a> \u2013 it remains an acclaimed film that earned a nomination for Best Motion Picture \u2013 Drama at the Golden Globes, among other honors. There\u2019s evidently something about this film and its construction that has caught on with audiences around the globe.<\/p>\n

What that may be is the straightforward storytelling approach that emphasizes spending time with its characters and not getting caught up in the media circus around the case or any special visual tricks to enhance the film\u2019s cinematic quality. The shot of Samuel lying dead in the snow with his family looking down at him that adorns the poster is one such moment in which simplicity goes very far, and what ensues after that is a mix of such stark images and genuinely riveting scenes of uninterrupted dialogue. Seeing is one way to interpret a situation, but it\u2019s hard to argue with recorded audio evidence played in court.<\/p>\n

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This has been a tremendous year for H\u00fcller, a German actress well-known for her starring role in the Oscar-nominated Toni Erdmann<\/em><\/strong> who also appears in Jonathan Glazer\u2019s chilling and extremely well-reviewed The Zone of Interest<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. While her portrayal in that film of the wife of the Nazi commandant of Auschwitz is clearly that of someone with a twisted sense of morality, her equally gripping turn here is far more ambiguous, expressing a deep frustration with being accused of something that often makes her seem more callous than she should as someone set on defending her innocence.<\/p>\n

H\u00fcller is in good company with her costars. Arlaud adds depth to someone who cares deeply about Sandra but also knows that she may not be perfect, and watching him come to realize the potential of her guilt is captivating. Theis makes Samuel a more complicated victim, and getting to know him only after his death proves very worthwhile. In one of his first film roles, Graner impresses greatly, capturing the uncertainty of someone who is young and wants to see the best in people. Filmmaker Justine Triet has crafted a film that, in its two and a half hours, grants its audience ample information about its characters but smartly leaves true judgment of complicity as a matter of opinion.<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer\u2019s articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n