FATHER FALLS: Samuel Theis, Sandra Hüller and Milo Machado Graner in “Free Fall”. Photo: Another world of entertainment
A coexistence before the court.
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DRAMA/THILLER
“Fritt fall” (“Anatomy of a fall”)
Premieres in theaters Friday January 5th
France. 12 years. Director: Justine Triet
With: Sandra Hüller, Milo Machado Graner, Swann Arlaut, Samuel Theis, Antoine Renartz, Marge Berger
Last year’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes begins with an interview with the writer Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) by a literature student. We are in a chalet in the French Alps, not far from Grenoble, which her ex and her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) have purchased and are renovating.
We drink white wine, even if it is early in the morning, the tone is flirtatious. Then there’s a persistent hum from above. It’s Samuel blasting a Caribbean-sounding version of 50 Cent’s “PIMP.” Music for work: he is insulating the roof.
The interview is interrupted by noise, the literature student leaves, the couple’s son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), 11 years old – practically blind after an accident when he was four – takes his dog Snoop for a walk. When he returns an hour later, Samuel lies dead in the snow outside.
ON THE BENCH: Sandra Hüller in “Free Fall”. Photo: Another world of entertainment
Did he fall or jump from the third floor window? Or was he pushed over the railing in others? The autopsy and blood traces indicate that Samuel suffered a serious blow For he fell. Sandra Voyter is accused of causing her husband’s death.
A year later, the trial is underway. Sandra is defended by an old lawyer of her acquaintance, Vincent (Swann Arlaud), who was once in love with her.
Sandra and Samuele’s wedding was carried out in a workmanlike manner. French able to this with pedantry. Everything must come to light. Sandra’s bisexuality and lateral hopping. The couple’s financial difficulties. The author’s unfulfilled ambitions and Samuel’s sense of guilt for what happened to his son. Use of alcohol and pills. The arguments – which in some cases were recorded on the telephone.
EVERYTHING SHOULD BE IN THE LIGHT: Swann Arlaud questions Sandra Hüller in “Free Fall”. Photo: Another world of entertainment
It’s as if their very life together is to be dissected and judged. The press watches carefully, knowing that “a writer who kills her husband is more interesting than a teacher who commits suicide.”
How does Daniel fare in all of this? Well, the blind boy is himself the key witness. He must make moral and ethical choices that no twelve-year-old should be forced to make.
KEY WITNESS DEBORATED: Milo Machado Graner in “Free Fall”. Photo: Another world of entertainment
Justine Triet’s elegant drama doesn’t stop at the doors. She gives us few clues, no brilliant master detectives. It is up to us to form a picture of what could have happened and what did not happen.
“Free Fall” is about the imperfect, subjective way we read our surroundings and the details our memory emphasizes. The question that ultimately arises is not whether Sandra is guilty or not. But regarding what is best served to the world, and above all to her son: whether she is locked up or freed.
Food for thought for an adult audience, impeccably performed by an inspired ensemble.
Published:
Published: 04.01.24 at 15:29
2024-01-04 14:29:24
#Review #film #Free #Fall #pushed