Though the Best Picture category at the Oscars is technically open to any film, it isn’t often that anything other than an English-language American movie wins the award. Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” while primarily spoken in French and only secondarily in English, aims to challenge this unspoken norm at the 2024 Oscars. A thriller, the movie follows Sandra, a novelist accused of her husband Samuel’s murder and must try to convince her son, the court, and the audience that she is innocent.
Triet masterfully pulls the strings of the plot, throwing bits of information to the viewer like pieces of meat to a dog. Small details and long expository shots let observant audience members put pieces together, though the full picture will remain incomplete, as Triet ultimately keeps the true story of Samuel’s death to herself. The cinematography, though not stand out, has its moments; when the camera lingers on scenes of the empty house, Sandra’s feelings of isolation in France linger in the viewer.
By far, the highlight of the movie is Milo Machader Graner’s performance as Sandra’s son, Daniel. Though child actors are a gamble, Graner knocks it straight out of the park at the ripe age of 15. His acting pulls the viewer in and doesn’t let go. From the very first scene where he walks the dog, before any of the unfortunate events that he will face arise, it’s hard to not fall in love with the boy he’s portraying. He excels in the most vulnerable moments; when Daniel cries out for his mother, or sobs about his dog’s bout of illness, Graner’s performance is hardly acting—it seems completely natural. Sandra Huëller and Swann Arlund, playing Sandra and her lawyer respectively, deliver good showings as well, though they are unable to match Graner’s.
Ultimately, the movie focuses heavily on loneliness and alienation. Sandra feels divorced from her old life in London, isolated in her late husband’s country. Daniel, formerly homeschooled by Samuel, is slowly having doubts about his mother’s innocence and eventually tells his mother to leave the house out of fear she may influence his testimony. He is further separated from society because of his impaired sight, and often resorts to imagining possible scenarios he might have seen at the crime in question if his eyesight was not impaired. The film hammers home the separation between characters through the language barrier, often switching jarringly between French and English, and using the dichotomy of the two to reinforce Sandra’s unstable footing in her husband’s country. Translations of Sandra and Daniel’s testimony in English are fighting points during the court proceedings, as both change their alibis and argue over the now-translated French quotes. Misunderstandings and misquotes only continue to isolate the characters from their surroundings, and from the audience, failing to adequately explain their reality and relationships to both the court and film watchers.
Though the premise of these concepts is stellar, the movie is at its worst when it goes too far in its execution. At times, the languages feel like a gimmick and the isolation makes the audience feel too separated from the plot. These issues are most present in the first hour of the movie, and they create a sense that the film is dragging on. They recede once the characters are thrown into the court proceedings, but it’s a struggle to get to that point of the movie in the first place.
All that said, “Anatomy of a Fall” will have difficulties taking home the gold statue for Best Picture, most likely unable to follow in “Parasite’s” footsteps by overcoming the foreign film barriers. However, it has a real shot at its nomination for Best Director, with phenomenal visuals and performances to forward the thematic threads of the story. The movie has similarly good odds in the Best Film Editing and Best Original Screenplay categories, leveraging the same strengths for those awards. Best Actress is an unfortunate stretch, as Sandra Huëller’s performance as the main character Sandra is only third best in the film, behind both Milo Graner and the dog—which is not indicative of her performance, as all three are outstanding actors; she’s merely overshadowed by a powerhouse cast. The movie may not be an Oscars sweep in 2024, but that doesn’t take away from the phenomenal crime thriller and its charming yet unsettling performances. “Anatomy of a Fall” doesn’t need Best Picture to be a must-watch.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on February 21, 2024.
