Messi, a seven-year-old Border Collie, stars in Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall — a tense drama about a woman named Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) going to trial for the murder of her husband, with the only witnesses potentially being her blind son and their dog, Snoop (Messi).
Messi joined host Jimmy Kimmel in the audience where he cheered on the winners of Hollywood's biggest night. The pup first rose to fame after his scene-stealing role in Anatomy of a Fall, in which he portrays a guide dog that nearly overdoses on pain medication.
“I met Messi months before the shooting, several times,” says Graner. “We both practiced separately, and I have to say that he could simulate lethargy very well.” During a crucial scene, Snoop is catatonic, tongue lolling out in distress after being drugged.
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.
Behind the Scene: How the Dog from 'Anatomy of a Fall' Learned to Play Dead on Screen
Why does Daniel poison the dog in Anatomy of a Fall?
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.
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.
At the end of Anatomy of a Fall, Sandra is acquitted, although the facts of the case still aren't entirely clear, making the true cause of Samuel's death ambiguous.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On Sunday, March 10, at the 96th Academy Awards® ceremony at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, director and screenwriter Justine Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari were awarded the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Anatomy of a Fall, which was nominated in four other categories.
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.
Can you watch Anatomy of a Fall without knowing French?
What Language Is Anatomy of a Fall in? While a French film, the movie features multiple languages, including French, German and English. You have the option to purchase the film dubbed in English through Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudo and other video-for-purchase retailers.
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.
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.
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.
And similar to the 1959 movie, “Anatomy of a Fall” does come to a conclusion, in a way, at least in the courtroom. A verdict is delivered. The Palme d'Or winner at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the film ends with the character of Sandra (Sandra Hüller) being acquitted for the murder of her husband.
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...
Later, Sandra recounts her history with Samuel to Vincent, stating that while their relationship started off great, things changed after an accident where Daniel was hit by a motorcycle, which damaged his sight. One year later, the trial gets underway.
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.
