Anatomy of a Fall

On 10 July 2021, Variety reported that Les Films Pelléas and Les Films de Pierre would co-produce Justine Triet's fourth feature film, Anatomie d'une chute, co-written by Triet and Arthur Harari,[10] and described as "a Hitchcockian procedural thriller".[5]

Triet wrote Anatomy of a Fall for Sandra Hüller,[11] marking their second collaboration following the 2019 film Sibyl.[12] When Hüller was cast in the role of a German writer who is accused of murdering her French husband in France, Triet told the actress that the language would be an important subject in the film.[11] Hüller wanted to speak French in the film, but Triet rejected the idea.[11] "The fact she is a German who speaks English and tries to speak French that creates lots of masks and clouds the issue, creating more confusion around who she is," Triet told Deadline.[11] On set, Hüller repeatedly asked Triet whether her character was guilty or not, but the director refused to answer.[13]

Triet said that the starting point of Anatomy of a Fall was that she wanted to make another trial film for a long time since her 2016 film In Bed with Victoria.[14] "I really wanted to address the legal issue in its smallest details, to address the issues of the couple, of living together. It was also a pretext to dissect every bit of their life," she told Paris Match.[14] Triet also said she was fascinated by the Amanda Knox case, which involved a young American woman accused of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007.[14]

Principal photography began at the end of February 2022[15] and wrapped on 13 May 2022.[12] Filming took place mostly in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, such as in Maurienne and Villarembert in Savoie, and in Montbonnot-Saint-Martin and Grenoble in Isère. It was also shot in Charente-Maritime and in Paris.[16]

The film received critical acclaim.[lower-alpha 1] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 129 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "A smart, solidly crafted procedural that's anchored in family drama, Anatomy of a Fall finds star Sandra Hüller and director/co-writer Justine Triet operating at peak power."[33] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[34] AlloCiné gave the film an average rating of 4.4/5, based on 40 French reviews.[35]

Triet and Hüller were praised by critics, and Le Figaro described the film as the "most ambitious and successful film" of Triet's career.[36][37] Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "A director and actress in peak form. Sandra Hüller is brilliant, sensational. An exciting step forward for a filmmaker who seems primed for greater international recognition."[38] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Sandra Hüller's calm directness as an actor is what gives the film its texture, substance and emotional force."[39] Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood wrote, "Sandra Hüller shines. A cerebral smash that might finally bring the Best Actress award that its star, Sandra Hüller, was cruelly denied in 2016. Hüller's screen magnetism cannot be denied."[40] For David Sims of The Atlantic, the film "works largely because Hüller, a German actress probably best known for her role in Toni Erdmann, gives an extraordinary performance already being tipped for Oscar success."[41] Steve Pond of TheWrap wrote that the film "is straightforward in its style but sophisticated in the way Triet doles out information. It's tense, unbearably so at times, but also subtle and satisfying."[42] Alexandra Heller-Nicholas of Alliance of Women Film Journalists wrote, "Both in front and behind the camera, Anatomy of a Fall is a film made by two women in particular who are simply at the top of their game, and neither Hüller nor Triet show any signs of slowing down."[43] Raphael Abraham of Financial Times gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Triet builds a taut did-she-do-it tension while also working in discomfiting questions about marital power dynamics and how much an artist's work really reveals about their character." Abraham also added that Hüller deserved a Cannes Best Actress prize for her performance.[44] Candice Frederick of the HuffPost wrote, "Through vivid flashbacks and meticulous courtroom interrogation, Triet masterfully turns our attention from potential crime-solving to the inner workings of two imperfect people and one complicated marriage. It's absolutely riveting."[45]

Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "thought-provoking", "a kind of Gone Girl in reverse", and an "uncommonly mature film through all its layers, seeing rarely expressed truths about 21st-century relationships in its trajectory."[8]

The film was released to 379 theaters in France,[46] where it debuted at number two at the box office grossing over $2 million[7] and selling 262,698 tickets, behind Barbie (288,185 tickets) and ahead of Oppenheimer (231,550 tickets).[47] Anatomy of a Fall had the best opening for a Palme d'Or winner since The Class (2008), which sold 358,000 tickets in France during its opening weekend in 2008.[47] In its second weekend, the film remained in second place behind The Equalizer 3 and ahead of Barbie, accumulating 608,913 tickets sold.[48] In its third weekend, the film reached the top spot at the French box office with 191,392 admissions from 738 theaters,[49] accumulating 800,283 tickets sold,[50] and grossing $5,7 million.[7] In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to the fifth spot at the French box office and accumulated 921,308 admissions.[51]

On 23 September 2023, Anatomy of a Fall exceeded 1 million admissions in France one month after its theatrical release, becoming the seventh Palme d'Or winner – and the third French Palme d'Or winner – to cross the 1 million admissions mark in France since 2000.[52]