Top Pick - Anatomy of a Fall
Oscar Tidbit: Winner of 1 Academy Award, Nominated for 5 Academy Awards in 2024:
Winner Best Original Screenplay – Rightfully won, triumphing over strong contenders like The Holdovers, Maestro, May December, and Past Lives.
Best Actress (Snub) – While Emma Stone took home the award for Poor Things, I was rooting for Sandra Hüller to win.
Best Picture – The award went to Oppenheimer, though I personally hoped Poor Things would win.
Best Director – Christopher Nolan won for Oppenheimer, but I believe Martin Scorsese deserved it for Killers of the Flower Moon.
Best Film Editing – Oppenheimer won, but Killers of the Flower Moon should have taken this one.
I’m a lover of courtroom dramas, and I would rank this one among the best. The movie begins slowly, unraveling the story of Sandra Voyter, a wife accused of being involved in her husband's mysterious death. However, as the plot thickens, Sandra Hüller delivers a stunning performance, backed by gripping writing. One of the film's highlights is an explosive fight between husband and wife, portrayed so intimately that it feels almost intrusive. The line, “You wake up at 40 needing someone to blame. You're the one to blame! You're petrified by your own fucking standards and your fear of failure!” – spoken by Sandra Voyter, is particularly powerful.
What sets this film apart from other courtroom dramas is the dynamic portrayal of the defendant, who is allowed to speak up during the trial. In these moments, Sandra’s deep intelligence and articulate nature shine through. She poignantly states, “Sometimes a couple is kind of a chaos and everybody is lost. Sometimes we fight together, sometimes we fight alone, and sometimes we fight against each other. That happens.”
I also appreciate how the film explores the themes and complexities of different languages, set in France but featuring both English and German. The movie doesn’t rely on melodrama but instead focuses on an entire relationship and life on trial, with the worst parts of oneself laid bare. Sandra isn’t just defending her life; her character and integrity are also on trial. Is she innocent or guilty? The film doesn’t give a straight answer, and that’s the beauty of it.
