--- title: "Anatomy of a Fall: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-fall/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-fall" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Anatomy of a Fall (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 14 reviews: 14 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews for Anatomy of a Fall are uniformly positive, and the spread is narrow: nobody files a mixed or negative notice, and the disagreement is over degree, not direction. Most critics arrive at the same two points. The first is Sandra Hüller, whose performance as the accused writer is described as poised, unreadable and open, carrying every possible reading of the character. The second is Justine Triet’s screenplay, praised for the exactness of its trial logistics and for using the courtroom to take a marriage apart rather than to solve a crime. Several critics note that the film leaves its central question unanswered and count that as a virtue. The reservations are small and scattered. Little White Lies finds it offers less that is new than its polish suggests, Paste thinks Triet holds back from bolder moves, and Screen Daily and Empire mention a slow start and a long runtime. Nobody thinks these outweigh the rest. ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Rating ★★★★★. 9 November 2023. The review calls it a superlative thriller of gravity and complexity, with Sandra Hüller's authentic star turn driving a modern courtroom story full of doubt and Hitchcockian wit. The film's forensic details and emotional depth are highlighted. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/3a7284bb-78f1-4048-bf15-b2e5fc6472c8) ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey Rating 5/5. 9 November 2023. The review hails the film as a sparkling intellectual thriller with a diamond script that explores every detail of the case and relationship with precision. Hüller's masterful performance and the film's lingering wizardry are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/cannes-2023-anatomy-of-a-fall-review-justine-triet/) ## The AV Club — Courtney Howard Rating A-. 12 October 2023. Triet crafts a fresh courtroom procedural that sustains suspense while dissecting a marriage and family dynamics through layered sound design and performances. Hüller delivers a towering, nuanced turn as the accused writer whose identity is scrutinized. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/anatomy-of-a-fall-movie-review-1850913823) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 November 2023. The critic praises the film's gripping, intricate screenplay and dynamic courtroom drama that keeps audiences guessing about a marriage and a suspicious death. Sandra Hüller's compelling performance anchors the story's exploration of bias and ambiguity. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/12/anatomy-of-a-fall-review-justine-triet-cannes-palme-dor-winner-sandra-huller) ## Empire — Laura Venning Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2023. The film is a gripping family drama that disguises itself as a murder mystery while dissecting the disintegration of a marriage. It singles out the strong ensemble cast and perceptive script for maintaining momentum despite the long runtime and ambiguity. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/anatomy-of-a-fall/) ## Evening Standard — Sophie Monks Kaufman Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2023. This gorgeously poised psychodrama functions as a court procedural and character study that interrogates how female guilt is judged by likeability. It singles out Sandra Hüller’s enigmatic, poised performance as carrying every possible reading of the central character. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/an-anatomy-of-a-fall-justine-triet-palme-dor-movie-review-b1119463.html) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/4/3. 10 November 2023. The critic calls it compelling Hitchcockian hokum with immaculately precise plotting that poses an existential conundrum about culpability and truth. It singles out Sandra Hüller's technically astounding central performance while noting the film offers less that is new than its formal pleasures suggest. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/anatomy-of-a-fall) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2023. The Palme d’Or winner is an utterly unconventional and slow-burn courtroom drama that leaves its biggest questions unanswered yet remains compelling and satisfying. It singles out the meticulous exploration of trial logistics and chronology alongside standout performances, particularly Sandra Hüller’s sphinx-like turn. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/anatomy-fall-review-palme-dor-winner-2738641) ## Time Out Rating 4/5. 21 May 2023. Festival review. The critic finds it a captivating and emotionally searing Alpine murder-mystery that blends Rear Window with Marriage Story. It praises the film's psychological and emotional depth, complex characters, and treatment of marriage as a prime suspect in the whodunit. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/anatomy-of-a-fall-2023) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang 13 October 2023. The Palme d’Or winner is a superb, ambiguous courtroom drama that demolishes notions of empirical truth in a marriage. The critic singles out Sandra Hüller’s brilliant, nuanced performance as the standout element. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-10-13/anatomy-of-a-fall-review-palme-dor-winner-sandra-huller-justine-triet) ## Screen Daily 21 May 2023. Festival review. The critic notes a rewarding Palme d’Or-winning courtroom drama that conveys a complicated woman through an intriguing trial narrative. It highlights Sandra Hüller's nuanced central performance in a twisty, thought-provoking film that gains dramatic traction after a slow start. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/anatomy-of-a-fall-cannes-review/5182411.article) ## Sight and Sound 29 May 2023. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a gripping, sharply intelligent psychological drama centered on a trial that dissects a marriage and questions of responsibility and passion. It highlights the nuanced central performance by Sandra Hüller and the searing screenplay's examination of professional jealousy and relational dynamics. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/anatomy-of-a-fall-sharply-intelligent-psychological-drama-from-justine-triet) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Jon Frosch 21 May 2023. Festival review. Triet delivers a gripping, richly layered drama about a writer on trial for her husband's murder that explores the unknowability of people and relationships. The critic praises Hüller's sensational lead performance and the film's nuanced take on legal assumptions and storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/anatomy-of-a-fall-review-sandra-huller-justine-triet-1235496751/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane 6 October 2023. Triet’s slippery thriller excels at generating uncertainty about a marriage and a death through meticulous scrutiny of evidence and testimony. The critic highlights the masterful performances, especially Hüller’s, and the film’s refusal to resolve its puzzles neatly. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/the-current-cinema/10/16/anatomy-of-a-fall-movie-review) ## The New York Times — Amy Nicholson 12 October 2023. The film is a cerebral trial drama that keeps the audience off-balance by focusing on the question of guilt rather than providing an answer. The critic praises the way it dissects the flaws and contradictions of an ordinary woman under scrutiny. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/movies/anatomy-of-a-fall-review.html) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★☆. 10 November 2023. The critic notes the film's prestige makeover of courtroom thriller clichés, shifting focus to the brutality of intimacy in a marriage. The impeccable screenplay and strong performances deliver a show-stopping trial. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/anatomy-of-a-fall-film-review-sb85vhqfg) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri 17 October 2023. The film is a courtroom thriller and marital drama that probes whether we can ever fully know or grasp the truth amid shifting perceptions and resentments. Ebiri highlights the central fight scene and Hüller's performance walking the line between open and unreadable. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/film-review-justine-triets-cannes-winner-anatomy-of-a-fall.html) ## Collider — Therese Lacson Rating A. 2 June 2023. Festival review. The critic finds the Palme d'Or winner a gripping and enigmatic story about perception, truth, and ambition that stands out as one of the best films of Cannes. Sandra Hüller's compelling performance and the story's intricate details make it worthy of a rewatch. [Read the review](https://collider.com/anatomy-of-a-fall-review/) ## Deadline — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2023. Festival review. Triet's film is a ferociously intelligent and deceptively playful drama that uses genre as a Trojan horse to explore a family's sudden implosion. It centers on Sandra Hüller's tour de force performance as a writer whose innocence is tested in a meticulously deconstructed courtroom setting. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/05/anatomy-of-a-fall-sandra-huller-justine-triet-ferociously-intelligent-murder-mystery-1235374822/) ## The Wrap — Steve Pond Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2023. Festival review. Triet's sophisticated film keeps characters and audience off balance with its direct style and deliberate ambiguity in a story blending family drama, whodunit and courtroom elements. It is tense yet subtle and satisfying, with a richly textured central performance from Sandra Hüller. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/anatomy-of-a-fall-review-justine-triets-family-drama-keeps-the-audience-guessing/) ## The Ringer Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 May 2023. Festival review. The critic highlights the film's exploration of toxic influence, gender dynamics, and how the trial exposes the messiness of a marriage beyond simple victim-or-perpetrator framing. It draws comparisons to real-life cases like The Staircase for its suspense and unresolved questions. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2023/05/31/movies/2023-cannes-film-festival-best-movies-may-december-anatomy-of-a-fall) ## The Skinny — Jojo Ajisafe Rating ★★★★. 20 June 2023. Festival review. The critic praises the film's complex portrayal of a couple's troubled relationship and the compelling performances, especially Sandra Hüller's, while noting how it subverts the courtroom drama genre with ambiguity and focus on characters rather than the crime. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/anatomy-of-a-fall-review) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson 10 November 2023. The slowburn drama keeps the question of guilt or innocence hanging while getting to the heart of the couple’s relationship. Hüller’s unfussy performance allows the character’s ambiguities to shine as the film focuses on how evidence affects the son. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/anatomy-of-a-fall-2023-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Film Stories — Maria Lattila 7 November 2023. The critic finds the Palme d’Or winner a taut and smart drama with a fascinating murder mystery that flows well despite its length. Triet’s precise direction creates tension through gender and marital dynamics explored in the courtroom proceedings. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/anatomy-of-a-fall-review-a-smartly-constructed-courtroom-drama/) ## Paste — Katarina Docalovich Rating 8.0. 20 October 2023. The critic calls it one of the most sharply made courtroom dramas in recent memory, praising its interrogation of a marriage and especially the child's grief arc and performance. Triet's refusal to fully commit to bolder moves or gut punches is noted as a limitation. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/justine-triet/anatomy-of-a-fall-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-fall.md