What is the role of the mother? At the heart of Anatomy of a Fall is a critique of anti-feminist backlash

By Blythe Worthy, University of Sydney

In Justine Triet’s French legal drama Anatomy of a Fall, novelist Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) is on trial for murdering her husband, Samuel (Samuel Theis), after he falls to his death from the attic of their Grenoble home.

During an early interview with her lawyer Vincent (Swann Arlaud), Sandra holds up her hand abruptly and utters “stop”. She’s a successful writer, used to being in control of the story – and she’s stopping this one before it goes any further.

Sandra’s hand hovers in front of Vincent, and it shakes with emotion. “I did not kill him,” she asserts. “That’s not the point,” her lawyer replies.

Vincent’s suggestion that the truth of Samuel’s death is unimportant is a tragic forecast. As Anatomy of a Fall unfolds and Sandra is scrutinised in court, Triet channels a forensic evisceration of the patriarchy against the backdrop of the French legal system to explore anti-feminist backlash and the rising tensions around gender parity in the modern family.

Finding the story underneath

Sandra is a strikingly unique character. As her trial progresses, Sandra’s grief is overlooked as Vincent and the court probe her personal life. Often, when she is pressed on her relationship, Sandra loudly clears the phlegm from her throat to mask rising emotion.

Rushed into her defence and not able to grieve, Sandra struggles with her emotions, concealing them whenever possible. When comforting her bedridden son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), she appeals to his sense of reason instead of emotion – despite speaking with a wavering voice. When nothing elicits a reaction, she shrugs and allows his godmother Monica (Sophie Fillières) to take her place.

https://youtu.be/fTrsp5BMloA?si=4J3FDC4jf2LAyA65

Sandra is unabashed about prioritising her ambition alongside domestic labour and family responsibilities. She also places her own emotional wellbeing first. During the year her son is recovering from an accident which leaves him partially blind, she is revealed to have had several affairs with women in order to stay afloat emotionally.

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