I have never heard of the director Justine Triet, and I have to admit that I am about a decade behind in watching the Oscar winners and nominated films, and while I don't think that is likely to change anytime soon, I did find one in particular to be quite interesting in its appeal, primarily due to its title: Anatomy of a Fall. It's rare that I find a film that has a title strong enough to pull me in, not needing to see the trailer, see the cast, or even read the reviews. I think that it speaks on the ability for a film to display its independent nature when it can stand out in the sea of titles that are released every month, let alone every year. So, what does that mean? Well, I had no idea what this film was about prior to watching it. I had seen it mentioned here and there, however. It also means that I am perhaps slowly becoming more open to watching different things if I'm lured in without marketing, and purely attracted to titles alone at this point. What's more engaging is having no idea as to who the director is, never having heard of their prior works, and seeing that history in their career as gaps are made, credits void per year. A director that can suddenly resurface and create something good is quite a surprise.
So, here I am, now reviewing Anatomy of a Fall. Having sat through the film's entire 2 hours and 32 minutes of runtime, I'm quite surprised I actually managed to be able to do it. I have mentioned often that these days, and with age, that I just don't feel I have the time or patience to sit through films that are above the two hour runtime, the idea that the vast majority of films simply do not need to be that long and could easily be shortened. But Anatomy of a Fall felt different in this regard, slow, but certainly in motion. I never really felt like it wasn't utilising its runtime well, never did I feel that things might just be dragging on a little too much.
This post may feature brief spoilers or mentions of the film's narrative and events, if you have not yet seen the film and think you may want to, I'd suggest going to watch it first before reading this review. That said, I do tend to refrain from posting about major moments in the reviews. Focusing more on the filmmaking aspects than anything else. Either way, consider this a warning just in case!
Anatomy of a Fall dives (no pun intended here with its narrative) straight into its main premise of an unfortunate ending for a father, having fallen to his death from the attic in the family's remote home in France. As with any sudden death, one of the first things that arises is the question of how it took place. This brings the mother and partner of the deceased into question, mixing both the complexities of being in the public eye and the struggles to defend her innocence in court, all while coming to terms with the death of a loved one. Anatomy of a Fall is a long dance into the idea of innocence and character development as we see the truth starting to unfold regarding their relationship. One of the things I liked was how the film constantly had us question her innocence as well, as more truth and history came about the two, it seemed more like a suspicious death indeed. Though we feel for the mother, her struggles in that relationship and how it wasn't necessarily working out. The film toys with the audience regarding these issues, we are always in doubt over the truth, or what we perceive to be the truth; so much so, that the film actually mentions this directly. There's the truth, and what we form together as the truth as a result of logic and essentially guessing. To that point: what is truth, if it's merely a collection of assumptions?
I found this interesting because it also takes a look into the idea of the justice system, how a courtroom is essentially a bunch of strangers just coming together to try to find an answer to something they really have no idea of. And how context can be twisted back and forth throughout the trial. More so, a prosecutor is merely an aggressor that seeks to manipulate context and benefit their argument under any circumstance. The idea that someone's version of truth can be very different to another. That subjective stance that works in the idea of truth yet is cast aside in court. While the film certainly has a lot to say regarding these ideas, I found it interesting how it portrayed each argument regardless of its stance, there is some logic to it, and how some perceive their own realities and attempt to convey it as fact to another. It actually made for some very unlikable characters, even if their presence in the film was short. But this isn't the story's main strength at all.
Instead, it's how the film never actually makes you aware of what the actual truth is. It keeps that idea that you have to figure it out yourself, how your truth could be anything. We see this in how the protagonist certainly has a fair number of reasons to have grown tired and wanting to kill off her partner, of which their relationship certainly wasn't working. She's far from innocent in that relationship as well, which backs the theory that she felt stuck, incapable of escaping and wanting out, only to take a drastic measure. What adds to this is the blindness of their child. He serves as the only 'witness' in the trial, but since he cannot see, his truth is a perception of what he has heard, not seen. Manipulation through audio is certainly a consideration here. I really liked this addition, it's easy to see how someone could manipulate in this manner, how things could be twisted and how a long game could have been played out.
More so in this clear connection our protagonist has with the very person defending her in court. There's something brewing there that has been present for the longest time. Yet this is something that is never openly mentioned or even noticed by others. It serves as another example of how something more sinister could have been at play. All while this happens, it's something that is told to us through dialogue, their behaviour together. Nothing all that straightforward, but there is something you can pry into. Again, the whole idea of what's true comes into play. This is merely our perception of what's in front of us.
With that aforementioned 2 hour and 32 minute runtime, Anatomy of a Fall slowly unravels the complexities of the relationship. And it does so with constant references to the past to unravel things. I liked how it utilised cinematography to do this. Sometimes going really artistic to show a recreation of something, or quick moments of drama to connect two different time periods together. A quick camera zoom in on the judge, for example. Or the use of film stock in a recreation of the assumed events. But for the most part, Anatomy of a Fall isn't super creative in its camera movements. The directing is mostly still, very fixed at certain perspectives. It almost feels like movement is a rarity in the film unless it's in the characters. I think this works well in the film where the drama is the focus, and the movements of the camera would be more of a distraction than anything else. Unique perspectives are still utilised, but again, they're very still.
I think this also adds to the monotony of their relationship, where nothing really happens in their lives and there's just no excitement. Just life almost hidden away in isolation where repetition unfolds. This adds to the tension that builds in the film, that gradual decline in happiness that is felt. It's as if this world they are surrounded by is keeping them there, that they're alone and facing this hardship out of force. Again reinforcing that idea that they're trapped together, wanting out but not knowing how to go about things. It shows the struggles of a long relationship and how life goes by and can turn people against each other; particularly in the regard of careers and success and failure. Jealousy makes its way into the film, particularly in how our protagonist effectively took an idea of her partner's and found success in it where he didn't. One again, promoting that idea that maybe he ended up killed to silence his ability to ruin things more.
Anatomy of a Fall is precisely that: to break down the idea of this fall and try to understand it. To look deep into the foundations of this person's life and dissect that many potential circumstances that may have led to it. Each moment in their life having some contribution to this act. I think it's a very different and effective film as a result. Justine Triet did a fantastic job here, and I really recommend it if you have the patience to sit through it.
