Review: Anatomy of a Fall

Official synopsis: A woman (Sandra Hüller) is suspected of her husband's murder, and their blind son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.

If you're a film fan on the internet, it's been impossible not to be at least somewhat hyped for this film. It made a huge splash at Cannes, has plenty of critics nominations and everyone speaks highly of it. It easily became one of my most anticipated of the year. My local theater never got it, but now it's available to rent on VOD for all.

I'm a sucker for courtroom dramas and this one doesn't disappoint. We probably spend 2 hours of the 2 1/2 run time in that court room and I ate up every second. This is the type of film where you barely notice the run time. I only realized how long it truly was after I had finished. It's paced very well and the dialogue is always engaging. As someone not familiar with the French judicial system, it was interesting to watch this all play out. 

Hüller gives a great performance as a woman who is in an impossible situation. She's not a native French speaker, yet she finds herself verbally sparring with a relentless prosecutor. (Antoine Reinartz who is GREAT, but his face was begging for a punch) Then there's Milo, and I'm surprised more people are not talking about him in the same way we're discussing other breakout performances like Charles Melton and Daniel Sessa. This kid was tremendous. He has to bare a lot of emotional weight and every expression was pitch perfect. And he's a great crier. That's not always an easy thing for a child actor to do. If I had it my way, he'd be in the Support Oscar line up in a second. 

I did expect to be a bit more conflicted when it came to the question of "did she do it?" I had my theory, and I never wavered from it. Other reviews I've read, the writers never felt sure, and I sort of wish I had felt that way too.

This is easily worth the rental price. I'm glad that Canne hype paid off.

Grade: A