Sujatha Shankar Kumar

Anatomy of a fall, for me, somehow became about parental responsibility and care for the child, which as the story proves can get terribly mixed up with the individual needs and ambitions of parents. Even as the husband and wife struggle to achieve their dreams and go through the rigours of home making, career paths, living choices: we see how their conflicts deeply affect their son, to the extent he becomes visually impaired. The couple is unable to be selfless and put their son first as parents should. In accidents, death - repeatedly the parents are serving their selfish needs. Through the course of the film, we curiously see a turn - how the young boy becomes increasingly mature, much more than his parents and by the end, seems to parent his parents more than they have done him. He emerges as the protector of the family as an integral unit, the saviour of his parents’ honour, developing the ability to intuit and project, and even sacrifice - none of which his adult parents are capable of doing.

As an Indian in America two decades ago, I used to hear this a lot, and it perpetually puzzled me: everyone was curious to know about the Indian experience. Everything had to be through that filter. I couldn’t just present a view of America as another artist or writer in America. Hence this film’s view of the need to see and experience Black America and the Black story struck a deeply personal chord: about a writer who wants to do good writing not necessarily connected to his race or ethnicity. His satirical novel becoming a winner underscores the strangeness of mass consumption. The script is amazing, the acting understated yet phenomenal and the actors perfectly cast. The editing of the film is particularly exemplary with superb timing. A must watch!

This is deeply thought provoking film with excellent character performances, and unfortunately it’s highly underrated. The plot does not follow a mainstream line. It’s A superbly edited film, the script subtly explores the characters who are close mouthed about their intentions. The protagonist Jim Mabry is a parole officer played by Robert di Nero - the beauty of this role is an inside path to characters who say little, do little and feel little. When Stone (played by Ed Norton) comes up against Jim in his bid to get out of jail on parole, and his beautiful wife seduces Jim, Jim’s carefully constructed facade starts to fall apart.