Anatomy of a Fall — quiet genius
One of my favorite axioms about love is that you know it is real when the silence between the two of you is as comfortable as a heartfelt conversation. This level of mutual assuredness in communication, verbal and otherwise, is the defining characteristic of a fruitful relationship — it turns out, that a film can evoke this very same feeling of an emotional home-away-from-home, all the while being nothing short of an artistic and intellectual delight.
Anatomy of a Fall is almost painfully simple when you reduce it to its rudimentary, elementary principles — a tried-and-true formula of whodunnit mixed with the tiniest bit of twist that is Daniel’s visual impairment; this formulaic simplicity, however, is precisely what allows Anatomy of a Fall to shine so bright and be so loud even when dead quiet; a blank canvas which is the key to the film’s success.
It all starts, and ends, with the out-of-this-world, jump-out-of-your-seat, lose-your-shit-at-how-good-it-is acting. To say that Sandra Hüller killed it would be the understatement of the year, maybe of the decade — her performance (notwithstanding Arlaud, Machado-Graner, and Reinartz’s brilliant work as well) is the single biggest stand-out factor in the film — with unparalleled range, she immediately establishes an unbelievably strong connection with the audience, the effect of which is so potent and so well kept throughout the picture, that there are times you forget that what you’re seeing is not in fact, a ridiculously beautifully-shot documentary.
This excellent level of production is prevalent throughout each and every aspect of what makes Anatomy of a Fall so great — mind-blowingly intimate audio design, with seamless, expert use of diegetic music, sharply and carefully picked shots, shying away from the hand-held, but keeping in touch with the scene, with fantastic color work both post-production-, as well as storytelling-wise using just the right amount of color theory.
Colors, along with the holistically thought framing and wonderful writing are paramount to getting a complete idea and understanding of the film, as it is almost ridiculous (in the best sense, of course) how riddled it is with symbolism, so much so that it is too much to fully examine in a brief overview like this one — the genius incorporation of language and its considerations and an apparent filmmaking birth of something I have never expected — canine-mediated storytelling — are stand-out symbolistic devices that settle the final “pop” of the whole feature.
Anatomy of a Fall intellectually toys around with countless concepts, but the most crucial one is the dreaded verité; truth is subjective, and the brilliant sequences involving the chief prosecutor in the Voyter case shine a spotlight on how shaky the search for it can get — so shaky in fact, that it is never actually settled. Ambiguity can be frustrating and unsatisfying, but it turns out it is also the gateway to an astoundingly compelling, thought-provoking climax, or in this case, a soul-crushingly deep and intimate comedown after what is very likely, one the most all-around mesmerizing films of 2023.
