Rolling on through to Best Picture nominee #6. I’d had it in my head that this film was also up for Best International Feature, but I was wrong—The Zone of Interest is the only international feature that’s nominated in both categories. Anyway, let’s get into it!
Sandra Voyter, a popular writer, finds herself embroiled in what feels like the plot of one of her novels, only it’s a nightmare. Her husband Samuel died after falling from a high balcony at their home, and the police suspect murder. Sandra is forced to have all their dirty laundry dissected in public, including things she doesn’t want her son Daniel to have to hear.
This is a gripping story—it brings lots of tension from the high-stakes premise and the slow rollout of all of Sandra and Samuel’s secrets during the trial. There’s the mystery, of course, of what really happened to Samuel and why. Over the course of the film, we learn all about Sandra, Samuel, their relationship, and their feelings about the accident that caused Daniel to lose most of his sight when he was four. This is a simmering pot of a movie, constantly bubbling with new angles and new reveals. Director/cowriter Justine Triet is up for two different nominations, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
One thing I really like about the film is that Sandra is a German woman living in France. Samuel didn’t speak German and Sandra doesn’t speak much French, so their married life played out in English, the two of them having to constantly meet in the middle in order to communicate. Though they’ve been living here for a few years, it’s clear that Sandra still feels out of place, and there are little moments to show how she’s just slightly out of step with those around her. During the trial, she’s expected to give all her answers in French, and she nervously asks her lawyer for vocabulary during her testimony.
Daniel’s vision loss is another aspect of the story that helps it to stand out. Again, the accident that caused it was a source of contention between Sandra and Samuel, and the police need to get creative to verify the statement he gives about his own memories of that day. But while his disability is an ever-present part of his character, it’s only one facet of Daniel. He’s also an 11-year-old kid who’s grieving his father, who desperately wants to learn the truth about what happened but isn’t fully ready for everything he learns in the courtroom.
Similar to something like Doubt, we’re not given an unambiguous answer about what happened to Samuel. I’m pretty solid in my opinion, but I’m sure some will watch the film and see it differently, which is part of what’s interesting about it.
Sandra Hüller is up for Best Leading Actress for her performance as Sandra, and she’s great. For a movie that’s about a woman who’s accused of murdering her husband, Hüller’s performance doesn’t take easy dramatic turns; instead, she often goes for the less expected choice, keeping you guessing throughout. Milo Machado-Graner brings intelligence and sensitivity to Daniel, and he holds his own well against the adult actors. (He’s sighted, while Daniel is not.) Swann Arlaud offers a grounding presence as Sandra’s lawyer/old friend Vincent, and I enjoy Jehnny Beth as Marge, a woman appointed by the court to safeguard Daniel’s testimony over the course of the trial. And while we get to know Samuel mostly via what other people are saying about him, Samuel Theis does well in an extended flashback scene with Hüller.
Warnings
Discussion of violence, sexual references, language, drinking/smoking, strong thematic elements (including discussion of suicide,) and a nondisabled actor playing a disabled character.
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