"I did not kill him."
"That's not the point."
If you like a film that keeps you guessing until the end - and perhaps beyond - then get yourself into the public gallery for this case. Powerhouse director Justine Tri et has kept you a seat beside her.
Already the Palme d'Or winner at Cannes and now primed for a handful of Oscar nominations, Anatomy of a Fall puts a marriage under the microscope, challenging the viewer not to blink for two and a half hours.
In a naturalistic performance that's up there with the best of them, Sandra Hüller plays the author charged with killing her husband at their remote French hideaway. There's excellent support from Swann Arlaud as the old friend defending her and young star Milo Machado Graner as the writer's partially sighted son. This is a masterclass in changing your mind from one scene to the next.
Written by director Triet and her partner and fellow filmmaker Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall asks as many questions of the viewer as it does the accused. "Your father was my soulmate and I loved him - but how do you prove that?" asks the defendant. It's a line that perfectly captures the legal jousts and messy relationships at the heart of this film.
Perhaps the ending is a little rushed - find the time ASAP to see if you agree.
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