Anatomy Of A Fall in The Screening Room: Sunday 24th March

ANATOMY OF A FALL (2023) Cert 15 English, French with English subtities
Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner. Directed by Justine Triet. (2hrs 22m)
Justine Triet's riveting family drama was one of the very best films released last year, and is currently sweeping up awards across the industry. Already named as Best Film at France's Lumière Awards, it was nominated for multiple trophies at the BAFTAs and the Oscars, winning Best Original Screenplay at both. Filmed in a mixture of English and French, it breathes new life into the courtroom thriller genre, featuring enthralling performances from lead actors Sandra Hüller and Milo Machado-Graner. It is above all a masterful examination of the dynamics of a troubled marriage: Hüller plays a successful novelist whose career has wholly eclipsed that of her husband, who now feels trapped in the role of carer for their son. The boy was almost blinded in an accident for which his father was partly responsible. But then the father is found dead outside their snowbound chalet, apparently the victim of a fall from a top floor window. Was it just a tragic accident? Did he jump? Or was he in fact pushed? The only witness to the incident is their son, whose own interpretation of events is confused at best. A brutal court case ensues in which all the messy truths about a failing relationship are dragged out into the open. Unmissable.