A procedural that’s anchored in family drama, Anatomy of a Fall finds star Sandra Hüller and director-co-writer Justine Triet operating at top form.
It’s a smart, solidly crafted, thought-provoking, multi-layered, tackling the very notion of the meanings of “Facts” and “Truth.”
Triet and Hüller were praised by critics, and Le Figaro described the film as the “most ambitious and successful film” of Triet’s career.
An exciting step forward for a filmmaker who seems primed for greater international recognition.
Hüller’s calm directness as an actor is what gives the film its texture, substance and emotional gravita.
All critics agreed thar Hüller deserved a Cannes Best Actress prize for her performance.
The film works largely because Hüller, a German actress probably best known for her role in the 2016 Toni Erdmann, gives an extraordinary performance already being tipped for Oscar success.
The film is straightforward in its style but subtle in the way Triet doles out information. It’s tense, unbearably so at times, but also gratifying.
Both in front and behind the camera, Anatomy of a Fall is a film made by two women in particular who are simply at the top of their game, and neither Hüller nor Triet show any signs of slowing down.”
Triet builds a taut did-she-do-it tension while also working in discomfiting questions about marital power dynamics and how much an artist’s work really reveals about their character.”
Through vivid flashbacks and meticulous courtroom interrogation, Triet masterfully turns our attention from potential crime-solving to the inner workings of two imperfect people and one complicated marriage. It’s absolutely riveting.
Commercial hit
Anatomy of a Fall had the best opening for a Palme d’Or winner since The Class, the 2008 Cannes film, which sold 358,000 tickets in France during its opening weekend.
Thus far, Anatomy of a Fall exceeded 1 million admissions in France one month after its theatrical release, becoming the seventh Palme d’Or winner – and the third French Palme d’Or winner – to cross the one million admissions mark in France since 2000.
Politics
In Sep, Anatomy of a Fall was one of the five films pre-selected by France’s committee to represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category at the 96th Academy Awards.
But France chose to submit The Pot-au-Feu instead, which sparked controversy. French insiders claimed that director Justine Triet was being “punished” for criticizing French President Emmanuel Macron’s repression of the pension reform protest movement during her acceptance speech at the 2023 Cannes Fest.
