One gaze leads to another in ‘Anatomy of a Fall’

A cover of 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” by Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band echoes over and over during the opening sequence of Justine Triet’s courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall” as thriller novelist Sandra (Sandra Hüller) is being interviewed about her work. The music track became a source of inspiration for the director in a story that sees the author charged with the murder of her husband (Samuel Theis), who has fallen from the top of their house. “Almost every artistic direction and decision was guided by the sound,” Triet says of the opener. “The construction of the shot was not so much the point of view of where he fell but where the music is looking from. We see a woman on the phone holding her son, who is averting his eyes despite the fact that he does not see very well.” The moment serves as a steppingstone for the film’s larger theme. “We wanted to speak about the complexities of this couple and to understand them; we thought we might go through the lens of the judicial system — not just in what this woman was going through but about the way in which society is gazing on her,” Triet says.