The title “Anatomy of a Fall” may imply this movie is all about a person’s death, but this foreign film analyzes much more.
Taking place in southeast France, “Anatomy of a Fall” opens with the death of Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis), who appears to have been killed by a fall from one of his home’s top floors. An autopsy, though, finds he suffered an injury before he hit the ground.
This puts suspicion on Samuels’s wife Sandra (Sandra Huller), and after some investigation, she is arrested and brought to trial. The film then explores the cause of the death through the trail, as well as a marriage that was fracturing long before the inciting incident.
“Anatomy of a Fall” is both a court procedural and a mystery, as the film doesn’t give you all the information as to what led to Samuel’s death. As the protagonist, it’s easy to side with Sandra and give her the benefit of the doubt. However, there’s always a bit of suspicion around the character too, making a viewer unsure, and therefore, invested in the film to find out more.
It’s a picture that reminds one of fact and fiction. The movie is reminiscent of the documentary “The Staircase,” which detailed the death of a real woman and the charges that came against her husband, and also the fictional “Gone Girl,” which followed a husband accused of murdering his wife and the social storm that erupts around him.
While it’s certainly interesting, though, it also takes time to get going. During the time before the trial starts, “Anatomy of a Fall” feels a bit slow. It’s fine for a film to be a slow burn, but it shouldn’t feel that way. The death takes place and it feels like the movie should shift to a higher gear, but it feels somewhat stuck in neutral for a bit.
That may be just from having so much experience with American crime shows and movies which are faster paced. That experience may be the reason for another issue with the film, too. This may be some American ignorance showing, but the French court system is certainly different from that in the States, and it made it a bit difficult to follow how things were developing at times.
An example of this is the subject of reasonable doubt being brought up in the case, since there would be an absolute ton of it in this case. Yet the defense never brings this up, despite the prosecution seeming to only have mostly circumstantial evidence.
This really isn’t the film’s fault, but it can throw a viewer from another country off. With that said, the court scenes are still highly compelling as the prosecution and defense goes back and forth with Sandra in the mix. It’s a harrowing courtroom battle of wit and will.
The film is also bolstered by the stellar cast on screen. Swann Arlaud is fantastic as Sandra’s attorney, while Theis is strong as an emotionally hurting person as seen in flashbacks. However, Hüller is definitely the standout, portraying a reserved woman who is trying to hold it together through a difficult situation exceptionally well. Hüller also never truly lets on if her character is innocent.
“Anatomy of a Fall” starts slow and goes on a bit too long, as well. On top of not always being the most accessible, it’s movie that didn’t need to be two and a half hours. However, it’s still a well made film that holds a viewer’s interest with great acting. 3.75 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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