Sometimes truth is the key; sometimes, it's absolutely nothing. We'll dig and scour for whatever truth we can get, but sometimes this search leaves behind nothing but destruction in its path. In this year's Palme d'Or winner, Anatomy Of a Fall, begs us to interrogate our own biases in regards to such a thing. A woman's husband dies from a fall; she was the only one there. Did she do it? Was it an accident? Was it a suicide? We all have our own beliefs, but we also have something driving that decision to believe in the first place. 

 

Justine Triet's courtroom drama plays with the idea of bias and truth; however, it's very specific in the way it wants to provide its information. It's presented in such an objective, but selective sense; the edit acts as one big master document of this case with no simple or easy answers. Then you get such an interrogative and thought provoking subjective side of the film that really stays with you. With a woman being the center of such a case, there will be some with sexist and misogynistic biases or perhaps some with more empathetic biases towards certain people and perspectives. We won't get a perfect version of the truth - whatever that may be - but there still begs the question on what drives our reaction to what we know.

 

With the case itself, we get a disastrous marriage laid bare on the witness stand. The nooks and crannies behind closed doors we'd be embarrassed for even our closest friends to know. Sandra Voyter, while attempting to maintain innocence, has her most intimate details about her just spilled out. We know people can get ugly? But just how ugly can people get. Sandra Hüller's performance as Voyter is one of this year's most hard hitting performances as such a complex and layered character, but was I ever caught off guard by Milo Machado Graner's performance as her son, Daniel. Graner brings such sensitivity and agency to his character, and he constantly blew me away every time he was on screen. He walks away with one of the best performances of the year under his belt. Perhaps even one of the greatest child performances ever as well. 

Anatomy of a Fall is such a fascinating anomaly of a courtroom drama. It's an invigorating and inventive statement on truth, but it's also such a thought provoking and subjectively interrogating script that's wickedly smart and powerful. With fantastic directing and performances at the forefront, Anatomy Of a Fall is an easy recommendation as one of 2023's most essential films.