Examining the Alien Nature of the Family Unit: Justine Triet Discusses ‘Anatomy of a Fall’
Justine Triet recently talks about her experience making the critically acclaimed film and her methodology as a director and storyteller.
When one hears the title Anatomy of a Fall, Otto Preminger's classic Anatomy of a Murder comes to mind. The 1959 small-town murder mystery/courtroom drama reveals the often mercurial nature of relationships and how there are inevitably secrets between couples, no matter how well they think they know each other. The film is the brasher cousin of Anatomy of a Fall. Anatomy of a Fall is also a distant kin to John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence.
In Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, after a husband is found dead, the tincture of civility that remained in a couple’s relationship is examined. The mother’s bond with her son is also put into question as the boy wonders how well he really knows her. Is his mother capable of murder? In this taut examination of a couple’s troubled relationship, life isn't black and white, but gradations of color. The truth is clear but the way to get to it is through a prism of realities.
Writer/director Justine Triet (Sibyl, Age of Panic) co-wrote the script with Arthur Harari, who was one of her sources of motivation. This is her fourth film and one in which she feels well-versed in the process. "I'm aware of how much time one spends with a film once one is making it. It's more or less four years of living with characters and a storyline. So before I was trying to write for an audience, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable living with these people."
Justine Triet recently spoke with Script Magazine about her experience making the critically-acclaimed Anatomy of a Fall and her methodology as a director and storyteller.
On Crafting the Anatomy of a Fall Screenplay
Originally, the project was meant to dive into this couple to draw a portrait of a marital relationship and a particular people through the prism of the judiciary as a way to have a subjective filter always present where the characters have to justify themselves and the character has to parse herself out from the version of reality that is being drawn with and of her. It's invested with the question of doubt throughout, with the question of language, and the question of language which should always be able to save us but which finds itself in places of impossibility.
On the Attention the Film is Getting
I didn’t think about what attention the film might get when I wrote it. I think when it comes to cinema calculations, we're always wrong. Two things that were important with keeping my attention in the process was first the casting of Sandra [Hüller], which was so crucial and important to me. And second, the argument scene, which happens halfway through the film, and where I was sure these people were lively and dimensional enough that they were not reducible to 'whodunit.'
What's really wonderful about this industry is that the previous film I made had a more well-known cast and I expected that film to get more attention because I felt like it would be a film that would be more desired in a provisional way. I was wrong and that's what makes the wonder of doing this work.
On Themes That Draw Her In
The themes I'm drawn to tend to have a relationship with the question of living together. The family unit is not a natural unit. It is always a very alien thing, to have to create a formation with others that becomes livable. It's also a subject that can bore me very much as it's treated in various mediums if it's treated too naturalistically. So, it's something I can be turned off by or very drawn to, except if it's Bergman, which in my mind treats it in a beautiful sense.
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In the same line of thought, I'm interested in community. because I was half-raised in a community of 300-400 people in the 70s and 80s and the question of how we negotiated that close space together is still on my mind. I haven't made anything about that directly myself. As you can see, the topics are quite simple but they can take political allures. One book that has become sort of a bible for me is one on Cassavetes where he describes 'war in the household,' the war within the home as opposed to outside of it.
On the Relevance of Winning Awards
I think I've become aware and cautious about how much freedom is a dangerous amount of freedom for one's creativity. I found that place where I was less free, I was hungrier and I want to keep that hunger up so I have to be mindful not to sink into any kind of comfort. Not financial because I'm still very far from it but some kind of taking for granted in the creative environment. I think awards are beautiful and the job of being a director is a very lonely thing most of the time so to have that moment of recognition and showing of love can be very important. I'm very conscious, however, to not let the pressure affect my work process.
On How Her Film Editing Influences Her Writing
The whole answer is going to come down to the question of autonomy but I think that discipline of editing taught me not to be afraid of cutting. I was aware that part of the writing process was to sacrifice elements. At times, I take a moment to move away from the hyper-efficiency in the way that I think about editing and writing.
Experiences on the Set of Anatomy of a Fall
In terms of difficult days, there were a few. The day of the child's testimony was a very long day in terms of getting what we wanted. It was very laborious. In terms of rewarding, there were so many days where graceful things happened. The first day of the argument scene, which was very powerful for the whole crew. I saw the actors raise up so many scenes that I wasn't sure about in the writing and the inverse would happen. The actors would make the alchemy of the writing come alive. That was a beautiful thing.
Emma Tammi Joins the Conversation and Discusses 'Five Nights at Freddy’s'
The two-hour and thirty-one minute Palme d'Or winner stars Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, and Milo Machado Graner, The Neon distributed film is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
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Sonya Alexander started off her career training to be a talent agent. She eventually realized she was meant to be on the creative end and has been writing ever since. As a freelance writer she’s written screenplays, covered film, television, music and video games and done academic writing. She’s also been a script reader for over twenty years. She's a member of the African American Film Critics Association and currently resides in Los Angeles.
