Justine Triet’s Palme D’or winning marital thriller, “Anatomy of a Fall” (2023), is an explosively gripping drama starring Sandra Huller in the lead. Triet navigates cracks in languages and communication to present a drama that is terrifically surefooted yet leaves ample room for ambiguity. In a European award-winning performance, Huller brings placidity and steely determination to her role as an author suspected of killing her husband. Her character’s cool-headedness adds several layers of doubt and skepticism to how she is perceived and thereby judged. Is she guilty or naïve? The film opens teasing this question and becomes a carefully wrought meditation on truth-telling and its shifting assessment.
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Our first encounter with Sandra is at her home in the mountains when she is being interviewed by a student. Sandra is an author of substantial renown who fuses fiction with events from real life. During the interview, she often hurls back questions at the student. The conversation is spiked with flirtation from both sides. But their chatter is interrupted by loud blasts of music drifting from upstairs, where Sandra’s husband, Samuel, is practicing. Sandra requests a rescheduling of the interview as the music notches up by several volumes. As the student leaves, she notices Sandra’s son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), walking his dog, Snoopy. We follow Daniel and Snoopy, who return to the house to find Samuel dead, lying on the snow in a pool of blood.
Sandra recounts to her lawyer, Vincent (Swann Arlaud), what she had told the police. After the student left, she had a chat with her husband, following which she plugged in her earphones and took a nap. She was woken by her son’s cry alerting her to the discovery of Samuel’s corpse. She insists Samuel couldn’t have killed himself, but Vincent reiterates suicide as being her best defense at the trial, as a mere fall which she pitches beggars belief.
Also, Read: Monster (2023) Movie Ending and Themes Explained: What Happened to Minato and Yori?
Sandra recalls she had once come home to find Samuel passed out. On inspecting certain spots in his vomit, she was certain he had an aspirin overdose. However, the trial’s proceedings have already got increasingly tipped against Sandra. The judge demands to know from Daniel if he has heard his parents arguing. Daniel states he was outside the window and is sure they were only having a chat. A re-enactment is staged which reveals Daniel couldn’t have possibly heard his parents with the music blasting in the house. Sandra’s case worsens on several counts. The judge decides the proceedings will be in French, which would ease communication for all. It makes Sandra’s confidence wobble as she is German, and her French fluency is shaky at best, which would thereby impede her control over the trial proceedings.
The discovery of the argument
Things keep exacerbating for Sandra as a taped argument between the couple comes to the fore. Sandra had stated she got bruises on her arm from accidentally brushing a countertop. She didn’t wish to disclose the argument, knowing it would hamper her case further. The bruises are, of course, from the fight, which throws up several issues about the couple and their crumbling marriage.
The court fixes a monitor, Marge (Jehnny Beth), to stick behind Daniel always owing to his influence on the case and proximity with the key suspect. He insists he stays during the trial, despite being actively dissuaded from it. He reiterates that he can bear the vitriol that will be hurled about in the proceedings as his parents’ marriage gets intensely dissected. Daniel learns several things about his parents. He discovers his father’s failing career prospects and his envy of Sandra’s success. He also learns of his father’s attempted suicide and how he demanded Sandra to be a more available, active parent. Finally, the bitter argument between the parents is played in court, which culminated in violence.
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Movie Ending Explained:
Did Sandra Kill Samuel?
Daniel is allowed to make a final testimony, and he requests his monitor to make his mother leave the house until his testimony. Over the weekend, he tries an experiment with the dog, Snoop. He gives Snoop an overdose of aspirin. Snoop goes unresponsive. With the help of Marge, Daniel makes the dog recover after throwing up. Daniel discloses the details of the experiment with Marge. He had once found Snoop unresponsive and smelling like vomit. The experiment helps him confirm that Snoop might have eaten his dad’s vomit. This reassures him of the possible truth in his mother’s claims, but the court doesn’t take his hypothesis seriously.
It is then Daniel shares another story with the jury of the day he was driven by his dad to the vet for Snoop. Samuel had apparently been talking of how Snoop might just get tired one day and die and Daniel should be prepared for it. Daniel believes his dad was speaking about himself. This story persuades the jury who eventually acquit Sandra. The film deliberately keeps its ending thickly ambiguous and unclear on the front of Sandra’s guilt.
Daniel’s account has been very mutable, and one can dispute his claims, owing to how he may wish to protect his mother and keep his one remaining parents close to him. Perhaps the biggest clue lies in what Marge tells Daniel when he beseeches her for clarity. She tells him he must decide what to believe and act accordingly. When he further enquires if that means he has to pretend to be sure, she affirms that he must decide, categorically stating it is different.
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Movie Themes Explained:
Truth, Narrative-making, and Perception
Forget finding a simple answer in “Anatomy of a Fall.” This award-winning movie dives into the messy world of memory, perception, and the stories we create. The truth? It’s more like a shattered mirror, with everyone seeing a different reflection.
Just like a suspicious friend might tell a slightly different story depending on who they’re talking to, each character in “Anatomy of a Fall” has their own version of events. Sandra, the main character, might be holding back details or letting her feelings cloud her memory. Witnesses remember things differently, and the media paints a picture of Sandra before they even know the facts. We’re left wondering who, if anyone, is telling the whole truth.
This idea of different stories shaping our understanding is even more interesting in the courtroom. Lawyers like Sandra’s become storytellers, crafting narratives to fit their case. A single word or a seemingly unimportant detail can completely change how the jury sees things. Sandra, being a writer, tries to take control by writing about what happened, but even her story is likely slanted.
“Anatomy of a Fall” also pulls back the curtain on marriage. We see cracks forming in Sandra and Samuel’s relationship, with hidden issues bubbling up. Was Sandra the one in charge, or is that just what everyone assumes? The movie makes us question the power dynamics at play.
The justice system gets a critical look too. Sometimes, winning the case seems more important than finding the real truth. It’s all about proving guilt or innocence, with little room for doubt. And with the media breathing down their necks, the pressure to reach a conclusion can cloud judgment.
Think of it like the movie “Rashomon,” where a murder is retold from different perspectives, each revealing a new piece of the puzzle. “Anatomy of a Fall” does the same thing, but instead of a crime, it’s a marriage and a suspicious fall.
By exploring these layers, “Anatomy of a Fall” goes beyond a simple whodunit. It makes us question everything we think we know, from the stories we tell to the systems that are supposed to guide us. It’s a captivating look at the truth, or rather, the many truths, that can exist.
Read More: The 30 Greatest Cannes Palme d’Or Winners of All Time
Trailer:
Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Letterboxd
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis, Jehnny Beth, Saadia Bentaieb, Camille Rutherford,, Anne Rotger, Sophie Fillières
Genre: Mystery & thriller/Crime, Runtime: 2h 30m
