For Snoop's most dramatic scene, Messi had to act sick — and a lot of hard work and training went into it. He had to learn how to lay down and let his tongue hang out as if he were ill, which wasn't easy.
Saving the dog isn't just an audience-pleasing move; it's a crucial thematic decision. One of Anatomy of a Fall's best characters, Snoop doesn't completely steer clear of the drama at hand.
Messi, the dog who plays Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall, and his trainer Laura Martin joined The Hollywood Reporter to reveal how they brought Snoop's near-death scene to life in the Oscar-nominated film.
During a crucial scene, Snoop is catatonic, tongue lolling out in distress after being drugged. Contini noticed his tongue looking that way after a vigorous play session with his beloved ball and immediately knew it would be perfect for that scene.
In the film, Sandra Hüller's novelist Sandra is accused of murdering her husband by pushing him off a balcony. Their son Daniel (Milo Macado-Graner) engages in an experiment that might help exonerate his mother — but it means purposely poisoning Snoop.
How Snoop Killed Samuel - Anatomy Of A Fall Analysis
Did the boy lie in Anatomy of a Fall?
Anatomy of a Fall's ending, analysed
But if you were to ask this writer, I'd say it's fairly obvious that Sandra did not murder her husband, and that Daniel – seeing that things were not looking great for his mother – lied in his testimony to help her suicide theory.
What is the trigger warning in the Anatomy of a Fall?
TRIGGER WARNING: There is extensive discussion about suicidal ideation and behavior. A dog vomits on-screen in one scene, with plenty of warning that it's about to happen. The presence of human vomit is talked about multiple times, and shown once. There is a scene of an argument escalating to domestic violence.
Why did Daniel give his dog aspirin in Anatomy of a Fall?
In the film, young Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner) feeds Snoop, his guide dog, a handful of aspirin to see if Snoop gets sick and passes out, like he did when he accidentally ate Daniel's father Samuel's (Samuel Theis) vomit years ago.
The true cause of Samuel's death in Anatomy of a Fall remains ambiguous, leaving uncertainty and speculation. Daniel's changing testimony raises doubts about his credibility and his motives in protecting his mother, Sandra.
Sandra is absolved and Anatomy of a Fall ends, and yet the main question still doesn't seem to have a clear answer. Not even actress Sandra Hüller knows for sure, although that wasn't an obstacle for her Oscar-nominated performance.
To me, the dog snuggling up to her at the end represents forgiveness, whether she did it or not, dogs are unconditionally loyal regardless of life circumstances. Proving a point to the man who died, whether by murder or suicide or a slip and fall, that he was wrong in his worldview...
Above all, “Anatomy of a Fall” is a character study. The film follows a woman named Sandra, played by Sandra Hüller, as she is accused of her husband's murder. Her son, the aforementioned Daniel, suffered an accident when he was 4, leaving him partially blind.
Despite the somewhat familiarity of the story in Anatomy of a Fall, the French movie is not based on a true story. But while the characters are fictional, Triet expressed in a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she drew inspiration from true crime stories.
Are there any recent films of this 2nd type? Otherwise it's just a cinematic genre of the algorithm that periodically churns out products for such audience profile. It's a well-acted but drawn-out drama that failed to keep me interested in what was going on. The criminal elements also felt very out of place.
French courtroom chaos in Anatomy of a Fall mirrors real-life intensity. Accuracy in French trial depiction adds authenticity to the film. French legal system nuances contribute to the unique drama of the movie.
The characters feel human, which is what truly shapes this film. It showcases the range of emotions and relationships we have in our lives, and the ways that love can blind us. “Anatomy of a Fall” is a movie I can see myself watching again and again, just to catch the carefully crafted details I might've missed.
Messi (born 4 April 2016) is a French Border Collie dog actor, known for his role as Snoop in the 2023 film Anatomy of a Fall, for which he won multiple awards, including the Palm Dog Award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
It won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Anatomy of a Fall was shot in Savoie, France. The interior and exterior scenes of the courthouse were filmed in Saintes, a historic town in Charente-Maritime, western France.
The beauty of Anatomy of a Fall is that by the end we, the audience, don't know conclusively whether Sandra (Sandra Hüller – who is nominated for the Best Actress Oscar) killed Samuel (Samuel Theis) or not. Triet wouldn't tell Huller on set whether she thought Sandra was guilty or innocent either.
Similarly, she told Arlaud that Vincent was previously in love with Sandra, which forced the actor to balance his character's past feelings with his role as her lawyer. Triet said this was helpful because actors want to “defend their part.”
When they return home, Daniel finds Samuel dead from an apparent fall. Sandra insists that the fall must have been accidental. Her old friend and lawyer, Vincent, suggests the possibility of suicide, while Sandra recalls her husband's attempt to overdose on aspirin six months earlier, after going off antidepressants.
This is a tense courtroom drama, that is also the fascinating story of a marriage. But the legal twists make the marriage story far more fascinating that most dramas on this theme. At times the movie is puzzling, but viewers who enjoy courtroom dramas will be fascinated by the French court system.
The performances, particularly by Huller are really first rate and you find yourself completely sold by her compelling courtroom testimony - bewildering you as to whether it was murder, suicide or an accident all practically in the same scene. A first rate, grown up, nuanced thriller - not to be missed.
In this way, the film shows how Sandra uses English as a symbol of her belief that she and her husband have tried to find common ground between their two differing backgrounds (because he is not speaking French, and she is not speaking German).
