Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

[bunniefuu]

- Sorry..

- It's okay.

Well..

what do you want to know?

Oh. Oh, just a sec.

It hasn't recorded.. Heh.

There.

Um, so, the way

you describe

the son's accident..

It's troubling to the reader,

because we know it's your life.

Do you think one can only

write from experience?

Come. Jump!

Jump!

Jump. C'mon!

Jump! Jump!

..and then that leads me

to an interesting story.

And I decide to put you

in the book that I'm writing.

And that's it, it's not more. You're in my book.

And yet, I don't know you.

What I do know about

is my interest in you, and that is real.

Yeah, but still, you had to meet me first.

I'm real, in front of you now.

Yes, that you are.

Yeah, so, for you to start inventing,

you need something real first.

You say your books

always mix truth and fiction,

and that makes us want

to figure out which is which.

You want?

Is that your goal?

OK, get out.

Snoop, come!

Let's dry you off.

You're nice and clean.

No more dirt.

What would you write about?

It's Samuel working upstairs.

My husband.

So, what interests you?

What makes you so mad

you want to explore it?

Forget about your thesis,

your studies.

I don't want to be a writer.

That's OK, you don't have to write,

just talk, like we're talking now.

You don't want to go on

with my questions?

Of course I want to go on

because.. Of course!

But we could chat too.

Maybe we ask one question each,

so nobody's frustrated,

like a normal conversation.

Are you really interested in..

What interests you?

Come on, sure.

I never see anybody,

I work here all day long,

you come to see me,

of course you interest me.

Okay, um..

I run.

It's one of my favorite things to do.

Makes me feel high,

like I'm on dr*gs.

What do you know

about dr*gs then?

That's the next question.

Big subject.

Maybe you don't write

everything down..

No, no, surely not. Mm.

I told you,

we should have done this in Grenoble.

It's fine.

I'll write your answers down.

But, uh,

I have many, many questions,

Maybe you don't have the time.

Don't worry about time,

time is not the problem here.

OK. Cool.

I'd like to discuss storytelling

as an investigation..

I don't like sports.

That's the first thing.

Walking yes, maybe.

Running, no!

OK, right, I get it.

So,

you're..

It's not really possible anymore,

is it?

Yes, it's complicated.

You know what, I'll be in Grenoble soon,

I'll give you a call, how about that?

Okay.

Sorry about that.

- Okay. Bye.

- Bye.

- See you soon.

-Yeah, definitely.

Careful.

Dad..

Mama!

Mama!

Mama, come quick!

I don't know, because I..

My child was calling me.

Yes..

No, he's.. I don't know.

I didn't move him,

I didn't touch him at all.

I think.. He's not breathing,

that's why I'm calling.

No, please come,

I can't answer all the questions.

No. No, he's not--

He's not moving.

Please just come.

Samuel Maleski,

found dead below his chalet..

Turning him now.

Full sh*t.

Close up.

I'll dictate the initial ideas.

Insert them before the conclusion.

The parallel, superficial abrasions

on the hands and forearms

suggest the body slid

1 or 2 meters upon impact

before reaching

its final, supine position.

A left temporal hematoma

related to the fatal brain trauma

indicates collision with

a blunt object in the environment

or a violent blow to the head.

Injury location is inconsistent

with discovery position,

thus impact occurred

before the body hit the ground.

In conclusion,

we cannot yet determine

if the injury resulted

from a collision or a blow.

We cannot, at this stage,

rule out third party involvement.

Then, the usual.

CAUSE OF DEATH: HEAD TRAUMA.

FORENSIC CAUSE:

ACCIDENTAL AND/OR DELIBERATE.

Toxicological analysis needed

to establish the truth.

Anatomy of a fall.

Thank you for coming.

-This is really weird.

-Yes.

-Seeing you again like this.

- It is.

- OK.

I didn't realize it was so high.

Yeah.

-Come on!

-Yeah.

Have you lived here long?

Less than two years.

It's Samuel,

he grew up here.

It's his..

Well..

How.. How..

How are we gonna do this?

Do you.. Will you

ask me some questions and..?

Yeah. I'm really sorry that.. my French

isn't any better than when we met.

- No. English is fine.

- OK.

How many times

have you been questioned?

It's been once here,

by the policemen,

and once

by the investigative judge.

Okay. Can you tell me what you told them

about the day he d*ed?

Yes, of course.

I told them everything

about the moment

I was with the student

until the ambulance got here.

I was in the middle of a meeting

with this girl,

and Samuel started

blasting a song on repeat

to piss me off and make her leave.

Is that what you told them,

that he'd played the song to piss you off?

No.

I just said that he played the song

super loud and we had to stop.

Because she was recording the interview

and it wasn't possible anymore,

it was..

Hmm. Good.

I need you to be precise.

Um, tell me everything, I mean

exactly the way you told them.

Yes.

So. I told them that

I put an end to the interview.

And that she left.

And I went upstairs to my bedroom

and that's when I saw Daniel

go out for a walk.

He wasn't at school, Daniel?

No, he only goes

two days a week in Grenoble.

How old is he now?

He's eleven.

And um..

So, after the girl left..

Samuel came down

to see me in my bedroom...

and we spoke a little bit about

what we were going to do that day.

It was nothing special, really.

And, uh..

He..

He went back upstairs to work

in the attic and I worked a little in bed.

You wrote? On your computer?

Yes, I finished a translation.

I translate for several German weeklies,

it's for extra money.

And um..

Yeah. I heard him working upstairs

and playing his music

for about, I think it must've been

ten minutes.

And then I put some earplugs in

because I wanted to take a nap.

And..

I fell asleep.

And an hour later, I think,

I heard Daniel scream, and um..

One of the earplugs must've fallen out, I guess,

because it woke me up and..

the music was still on,

I ran downstairs, and..

Yeah. That's it.

I called the SAMU

and they arrived 30 minutes later.

Okay.

- Can I take a look around?

- Of course.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

Where do you want to start?

Should I explain the.. something.

Yeah, maybe, I don't know.

Yeah. This is where..

Come on. This is where we eat.

- Yeah, sorry..

- No..

So..

He was working over there?

Yeah, he was insulating the attic.

And when you were having a nap,

he was right above you?

- Yes.

- OK.

So..

He was supposed to get to that next.

We wanted to make rooms for B&B.

So, he was working there?

These days, yes.

The.. window?

Do you remember when the

ambulance arrived, was it open?

Yes, it was.

He used to keep it open?

I'm not sure of that really, because

sometimes he would air the room,

you know,

because he wanted to get rid

of the wood dust and..

Was he reckless?

I mean, did he ever take some risks

when he was working?

No. He was very cautious

and meticulous--

he worked slowly.

Is there any reason why he would've

leaned out the window,

for instance, to call out to you

or Daniel?

No, when he was working, especially when

he was playing his music, he, he kind of..

he shut himself off from the world.

So, he never called

for me or Daniel up here.

Mmm. Well, anyway, with the height of the..

Windowsill?

- Windowsill.

- Yeah.

Had he been drinking?

No, he never drank

during the day.

Especially when he was working.

Sweetie..

You need to wash up and get dressed.

It's daytime, you need to get up.

Honey, I know this is hard.

It's hard for me too.

And it's going to be hard

for a while.

But we have to try and do

the things that we did before..

Because I..

Look, Monica came to see you,

she made you Tiramisu.

You can't spend whole days

like this without going outside.

It's beautiful out.

And Snoop needs to go out too.

Daniel,

will you come eat with us?

I want to sleep.

OK, first eat with us,

then you can sleep.

I don't understand.

No one understands.

We can't understand.

I have to understand.

Remember the psychic

I told you about,

the one I saw when Alain d*ed?

Monica.

I'd like to.

I'd rather you don't..

He helped me a lot.

But he's a child.

Don't confuse things.

I'll discuss it with Monica.

She's helped children before.

Want some?

What do you need?

Nothing, I'm OK.

OK.

Your doubts aside, it might help him.

She senses things we can't.

Vincent, an old lawyer friend,

Monica, Daniel's Godmother.

- Hello.

- Hello.

- I'll call you.

- Tell me if he eats.

Yes.

Uh, the plates?

-There.

-Yeah.

I'm so tired of crying.

It's really ridiculous,

I'm so exhausted.

-You want parmesan?

-Yes. Yeah, it's perfect.

- I don't know where the pepper is.

- Don't worry. I'll take care of it.

So, as you know,

the autopsy report is inconclusive

about the cause of death.

The forensic pathologist

didn't have enough concrete elements.

But..

What we can defend,

is a fall from the attic window,

with him..

bouncing off the shed roof.

His head may have hit the edge

somewhere around here.

You see?

Okay.

Then he would have landed

on the ground,

approximately here.

It seems that he found the strength

to crawl one meter or two

before collapsing

in this final position.

That explains

the blood on the snow.

But there are several problems.

First, they found nothing

on the roof, no DNA, nothing.

And there's these 3 blood spatters

here on the wall.

It seems it doesn't really match

with the head impact on the roof.

And the judge has asked an expert

to clarify this.

And, when you see this

what do you think?

I don't know,

I'm not a spatter analyst.

But I know a very good one.

So, I'm gonna get her opinion.

There's one last problem for us,

that bruise on your arm.

It might look like

the result of a fight or struggle.

When did they see it?

They examined me that night,

my sleeve was rolled up and they saw it.

Okay, and you explained it

to them right away?

Yeah, I knew exactly

how it happened.

-Should I show you?

Yeah, please.

Ahem. So, when I'm here in the kitchen,

I bang my arm

on this all the time, you see?

Like, when I move.

It's ridiculous, it happened

several times that week,

and, uh, I told them my skin marks easily,

and they could ask Daniel

because he hears me bumping into it all the time.

OK. Good.

So. As you can see, an accidental

fall is gonna be hard to defend,

given the height of the windowsill.

So that's why

there's an investigation for..

"mort suspecte,"

And you're..

more "Suspicious death". Yeah.

because you were the only person there.

OK.

And of course, you're his wife.

Now, looking for

a stranger who walks in,

kills him while you were sleeping right above

and Daniel was out for a walk

is a shitty strategy.

Samuel had no enemies.

Stop!

I did not k*ll him.

That's not the point.

Really.

We have to go through

Samuel's personality.

What was he was going through lately?

Is there anything

that would seem consistent with

su1c1de?

I thought about it, obviously.

But I just can't imagine him jumping

with Daniel so close by.

It's just..I just can't get it in my head.

Yeah, but it's probably

our best defense.

I mean, if they indict you,

it's our only defense.

But I think he fell.

Yeah, but nobody's going to believe that.

I don't believe that.

I need a smoke.

Vincent.

There's something

I want to tell you.

About six months ago,

I wonder if..

Samuel didn't swallow some pills.

I found him passed out drunk

on the floor.

He'd vomited.

It was very early in the morning.

There were some white spots

in the vomit,

and I remember wondering

if they were pills.

- Really?

- Yes.

?Did you two talk about it?

No, he didn't want to talk about it.

?Did Daniel see this?

No.

And you.. did you call

for a doctor or..

No, I didn't realize it back then,

but looking back at it now,

it seems like it might have been

a su1c1de attempt.

?Does anyone know about this?

No.

OK. I'll call you back.

Yes.

- OK.

- Bye.

Is the light too bright?

Want me to lower the blinds?

I'm OK.

Yeah?

OK.

You didn't tell me about

your parents' arguments.

What do you mean?

I don't really remember any.

When they start yelling,

I prefer to leave.

Can you tell me who was angrier?

No.

Is that why you left

the day your dad d*ed?

No, I just felt like a walk.

OK. You say you heard

your parents when you left?

Do you remember the conversation?

More or less. It wasn't a fight.

I couldn't hear the words,

but it wasn't..

Then you don't know

it was a fight.

I could tell..

I could hear it wasn't a fight.

Daniel, the music was loud,

you were outside.

They were in her bedroom,

two floors up.

How can you be sure?

I wonder

if you could hear them at all.

I was just below the open window.

I know what I heard.

OK.

Is it over?

How can you be so sure

where you were?

Because I touched the..

Gaffer tape on the woodshed.

Gaffer tape?

When we moved in,

Dad put tape with

different textures everywhere,

- so I could feel my way.

- Yes.

I don't really need them now,

but I still touch them.

Each piece feels different,

I wouldn't get it wrong.

I touched the woodshed tape.

So I was under the window.

OK.

I transposed what you told me.

But I didn't say it in French.

The volume is what matters here,

and French is easier for everyone.

Helene, start the music.

Did it go well?

Yes, nothing special.

What's next this afternoon?

I don't know, I'm tired.

I need to work, then I'll rest.

Not asking me?

I assume

you'll keep working in the attic?

Stop the music.

Stop.

So?

Did you hear anything?

Let's go again, louder this time.

Louder? But I didn't shout at all.

The point of the reenactment

is to determine a credible volume.

Vincent, I never shouted.

She spoke no louder.

Her son says the voices were calm.

That doesn't hold up.

The music drowns them out.

My client didn't shout.

She won't shout now.

Miss,

please replace Mrs Voyter.

Come on in, please.

Play the music.

Start the music!

Did it go well?

Yes, nothing special.

What's next this afternoon?

I don't know, I'm tired.

I need to work, then I'll rest.

Go again, much louder.

Was it good?

Yes, nothing special.

What's next this afternoon?

I don't know, I'm tired.

I need to work, then I'll rest.

Not asking me?

I assume

you'll keep working in the attic?

Stop the music.

Now they hear it.

Good.

You do realize that was ridiculous?

Spare me your comments.

It was calm voices, not like that.

But see,

you wouldn't have heard them.

Right?

Can we try one last time,

starting inside?

With calm voices again.

We can.

I made a mistake.

Cut the music.

This is the tape I touched.

I was inside.

I got mixed up.

That's not what you told us.

leave the house after she left.

And your mom says

she spoke to your dad after that.

I got mixed up.

You got mixed up.

Well.

This afternoon was hard, wasn't it?

I'm mad at myself.

I thought I was sure, and then..

But you didn't lie, did you?

No.

I don't want you to change

your memories, you know.

You have to tell them

exactly like you remember it.

That can never hurt me.

Give me your hand.

Yes.

What do we do now?

You want a drink?

Whiskey?

Come on.

- Oh.

- Oh, sorry.

All I can say is,

the interrogation is in progress

and may continue for a while.

She's been in there for 8 hours.

Is she in trouble?

Sandra Voyter is not in trouble.

She maintains her innocence,

so there will be no confession.

You're confident,

but we've heard about a recording.

Is it incriminating?

You're not listening.

She has not been indicted,

so nothing is incriminating.

The so-called video is a myth so far.

We've had no access to it.

So, you confirm it's a video?

No, I confirm nothing.

I said precisely the opposite.

If there's nothing new,

why the summons?

I don't know what to tell you.

We don't understand it ourselves.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming

for the public prosecutor's

statement.

So, Sandra Voyter was indicted

this morning at 8:30 a.m.

The investigation revealed elements

that justify this decision.

Three elements in particular.

Analysis of Mr. Maleski's blood spatter

found at the couple's domicile

indicate he may have received

a blunt force blow to the head

when he was

on the third-floor balcony.

In addition,

the reenactment

done three days ago

brought to light

a number of discrepancies.

Lastly,

a file was discovered on a USB key

belonging to Mr. Maleski.

All I can say about it, for now,

is that it's an audio recording

of the couple,

made the day before his death.

As I'm trying to tell you,

she can't come sign herself

because she's held up

at the courthouse.

So it'll be me,

her lawyer Vincent Renzi,

coming to get the documents for her.

No, I can't come at 11.

I can be there in 20 minutes?

OK. Thanks, be right there.

We have good news.

The judge this afternoon

OK.

I'm off to the bank.

And the home equity loan?

Less than we hoped.

They have money problems.

Outstanding credit, etc.

The bank will only do 50,000.

Bail will be more than that.

Her son is a witness.

He'll be testifying in court.

There is obviously a risk

of her exerting pressure on him.

As a consequence,

release on bail is not an option.

I'm asking you to place Mrs Voyter

in detention pending trial.

Thank you.

Over to you, Mrs Boudaoud.

Judge, how can we

consider her a flight risk,

when she's responsible for her son?

That makes no sense.

With a visually impaired child?

And she's all over the media.

Separating them

could compound his trauma.

He had an accident

at the age of four

that damaged his sight.

He's been traumatized,

both psychologically and emotionally.

Mrs Boudaoud, your reaction?

The judge's decision is rare

enough to merit praise.

A judge refusing to give in

to repressive reflexes

is a healthy sign,

especially in such a case.

We feel the release

under judicial supervision

underscores the weakness of the case.

Is your client relieved?

This is a rare decision

in a homicide accusation,

and reads like

a repudiation of Judge Janvier.

Reactions in the hallways

have been intense.

I quote,

"This decision is dangerous."

"The suspect will be reunited

with a major witness."

"It's a real concern

for the upcoming trial."

How could you not tell me about it?

I had no idea he recorded it.

Even if he hadn't, I mean,

You had a fight

the day before he d*ed.

That recording

is not reality.

It's a part of it, maybe,

if you have an extreme moment in life,

an emotional peak, and you focus on it,

of course it crushes everything.

It may seem like irrefutable proof,

but actually warps everything.

It's not reality. It's our voices, that's true,

but it's not who we are.

I don't give a f*ck

about what is reality. OK.

You need to start seeing yourself

the way others

are going to perceive you.

The trial is not about the truth.

- I didn't know there'd be a trial.

- Well, there is.

Now, what will really count is..

who you have around you.

There's nobody around me.

Yes, there's Daniel.

Yeah.

Daniel is important.

And didn't you and Samuel have any..

any friends, someone..

We should never have come here.

I didn't want to,

I was so happy in London.

It was him, he insisted so much.

He said there'd be no more

distractions from work.

It would solve

our financial problems.

I left my sh*thole in Germany

and ended up stuck in his sh*thole.

It's f*cking absurd, isn't it? Come on!

- Hello.

- Hello.

Hi, kitten.

This is Mrs Berger,

appointed by the Justice Minister.

Hello.

Vincent Renzi, I work with Nour.

She'll be here regularly, with..

Daniel, and with you.

The frequency will be specified.

She's here..

to ensure that everything goes well.

And that no one

tries to influence Daniel,

or make him say things

he doesn't want to say at the trial.

The judge says you must

speak French in her presence.

Right.

That's it.

May I speak with Daniel in private?

Uh, okay, so we go?

I'll call you.

Your mother will give us

space to get acquainted.

My name is Marge.

We'll see each other a lot.

Do you know why I'm here?

Are you OK with it?

You can consider me a friend.

Or not. That's your choice.

What do you think?

It's OK, I don't..

I don't need us to be friends.

Well, I'm here

to protect your testimony.

The law sent me, and..

the law can't be someone's friend.

Otherwise it couldn't be

someone else's friend,

and the law must be

the same for everyone.

So you're right,

I can't be your friend.

You just have to tell me

if anything feels strange,

if there's a problem,

I don't know,

for example with your mom,

regarding the trial.

I usually discuss stuff like

that with my friends.

Right.

Maybe this time

you don't really have a choice.

With chocolate chips..

and raspberries..

I know it doesn't exist

but that's what I vow.

The archduchess's socks..

What?

The archduchess's socks..

He was

one of the only persons I knew,

when he walked into a room,

something shifted,

the atmosphere changed.

And I suppose that's charm, isn't it?

It's, um..I fell in love with his charm.

I'd spent my whole life

not understanding my family and friends,

and then he came along,

and I felt like..

I understood what he was saying,

the signals

that he was sending me.

We didn't necessarily agree,

but we had..

We had things to tell each other.

And I realized it later

when it was gone.

Don't say it's gone.

Just focus on him.

How you met.

When we met, he'd just gotten a job

at a university in London.

So.. we moved there together.

He was a great teacher.

He had a way of making everything

sound alive and accessible,

it was great.

But some..

But that wasn't really enough,

so..

Deep down, what he really wanted

to do was to write.

And he was working on a novel for years.

I watched him struggle, it was hard.

And I came to realize

that his relationship with time,

with work, was..

complicated,

unlike for me, for example.

No,

stop comparing yourself to him.

Just, uh..

Go back to your relationship.

Our relationship revolved

around intellectual stimulation,

even if it meant

neglecting everything else.

Everything else?

Meaning Daniel?

We should mention Daniel

early on.

The accident.

Okay. I didn't know

it was sent.

- It's OK?

- It's OK.

It's just that I didn't know

that it was so..

like this, OK.

Everything changed

after the accident.

Daniel was four.

That day, Samuel was supposed

to pick him up from school.

But he was on a roll

with his writing, so..

he called a babysitter at the last minute

and the babysitter showed up late.

And as they were crossing

the street,

a motorcycle hit Daniel.

His optic nerve

was permanently damaged.

After that,

Samuel became obsessive about it,

he blamed himself on a loop.

If only he'd

come pick him up on time..

He was overcome with guilt..

and perhaps he never

truly escaped that feeling.

We spent that whole year

at the hospital,

with Daniel.

We began having financial problems

and Samuel started

taking antidepressants.

Sorry, can we please keep that clean,

Vincent?

I would really like to protect him

and his image, and spare Daniel.

We'll try.

OK.

But it will be like that,

I have to.. - Yes.

I have to admit things.

You have to prepare yourself

to tell everything, and the challenge

is to do it in French.

OK.

One year later.

Are you really interested in..

What interests you?

Come on, sure.

I never see anybody,

I work here all day long,

you come to see me,

of course you interest me.

Okay, um..

I run.

It's one of my favorite things to do.

Makes me feel high,

like I'm on dr*gs.

What do

you know about dr*gs then?

-Oh, a lot..

That's the next question.

Big subject.

Maybe you don't

write everything down.

No, no, surely not.

I told you,

we should have done this in Grenoble.

It's fine.

I'll write your answers down.

Do you confirm this is your

interview with Mrs Voyter?

Yes.

She refuses to talk about herself,

yet that's why you came.

I came to talk about her work.

Right, but by constantly

changing the subject,

what was she looking for,

do you suppose?

We can hear it.

She asks about me.

She seemed to enjoy talking about me

more than herself.

Was she inciting you

to talk about yourself?

Inciting..

No, I wouldn't say that.

She wasn't manipulative,

just relaxed.

It felt natural.

She seemed to enjoy the conversation.

You say "relaxed".

We hear her serve you wine at 1:45.

Had she been drinking

before you arrived?

I think so.

Would you say she did her utmost

to make you comfortable,

more than you might've expected

when interviewing a writer?

I wouldn't say that, no.

It seemed like Sandra.. Mrs Voyter,

needed to escape, to relax.

- Escape?

- Right.

Did you know that Sandra,

as you call her, was bisexual?

No.

Did you sense it?

No.

Hearing the conversation now,

with hindsight,

would you call it seduction?

I felt, and she told me herself,

that she didn't have

much of a social life

or many chances to talk

to new people.

I suppose you could call that

a form of seduction.

The court needs to know

if you would call it that.

Seduction means several things.

But the word seduction

always implies some..

seduction.

The witness's answer

is clear enough,

as to what she means by seduction.

Mrs Voyter kept expressing

her interest in you.

She wanted to do the interview

in Grenoble.

Didn't you sense..

She answered that question.

Not very clearly.

Please answer, Miss Solidor.

Could you call me Mrs?

I dislike being reduced

to a marital status.

Of course.

That wasn't my intention.

I didn't feel seduced in the moment.

So you did wonder afterwards?

I found it atypical, nothing more.

How did you interpret the song

Samuel Maleski played?

I felt tension around the noise.

Samuel Maleski imposing

his presence without showing himself.

And Sandra's reaction..

What was her reaction?

She was a bit annoyed.

And when the song started over?

He was playing it on a loop.

Clearly..

good deduction.

But how did it feel to you

in the moment?

It added to the strangeness.

I felt my presence was less..

It was less relaxed.

So you clearly felt tension.

- You're nitpicking.

- No, just clarifying.

Did you feel tension?

Yes.

Did you feel that Mr. Maleski,

by playing that music,

wanted to disrupt, or interrupt,

your interview?

That was my first thought, yes.

But it's hard to read the intentions

of someone you can't see.

That's what they pay me for!

Sandra Voyter,

you sought a connection

to divert the interview.

Correct?

That's a leading question.

There was no seduction.

My question concerns your connection.

In the recording you're chummy,

laughing, drinking wine.

Were you seeking escape

from a difficult home-life

by connecting with this young woman?

Mrs Voyter

did not initiate the meeting.

Please answer, Mrs Voyter.

Yes, I found her surprising.

I hadn't seen anyone new in a while.

And yes, I needed a drink.

This person was intelligent and nice,

nothing more.

That interview was hardly enough

to base a thesis on!

She can have a laugh with a student

whose questions don't thrill her.

Would you say the music

Mr. Maleski played

so aggressively

indicated he was jealous of you,

or Miss.. Mrs Solidor? Sorry.

The music was a cover

of 50 Cent's P.I.M.P.,

a deeply misogynistic song.

It was an instrumental version.

Answer, please.

Could your husband's song choice

express his jealousy?

I can answer.

He often played that song.

I doubt it was intentional.

He loved loud music, it relaxed him.

He had purposefully installed..

What is a "speaker"? Sorry.

A powerful speaker.. sorry.

He worked a lot, it was noisy..

Mrs Solidor says

you ended the interview over that.

- Is that true?

- She never said that.

If the defense

keeps reacting to every question,

I'll be very irritated.

Mrs Voyter, answer the question.

The music was just very loud.

And when it started over,

I realized it wasn't going to stop.

That made discussion difficult.

So I..

I preferred to stop.

And I was tired, yes.

And I felt a bit..

woozy, from the wine.

Yet once alone, you didn't ask

him to explain his behavior?

As I said, it was habitual.

No.

You entertaining

an attractive young woman

while he toiled upstairs

was neither habitual, nor neutral.

He knew you liked women.

You'd recently cheated.

That's beside the point.

And sexist.

I'd have said the same

if she were an attractive man.

Excuse me, but this couple's

conflicts matter here.

There's something

a bit strange in this situation.

You say you went upstairs

to your room to work and sleep.

Right below the attic

with the deafening music.

Music that had made

the interview impossible.

In that big house,

you chose that spot?

Yes, that's where I work.

I always work in bed.

When Samuel came to talk to you,

you didn't complain?

Deafening music overhead

is hardly normal.

I'm used to it, I don't mind.

I wanted to work, I had my earplugs.

It was normal.

I can work in any situation.

You said you were tired,

woozy from the wine.

Yet you wanted to work?

Yes.

And I did. Not for long.

A translation was due.

I wanted to finish it before resting.

As I said, I can work

in any environment, any condition.

Apparently you can also rest

anywhere, anytime.

So all was well with the world.

That's all.

No further questions.

Daniel, that's not what you told us.

Zoe Solidor saw you

leave the house after she left.

And your mom says

she spoke to your dad after that.

I got mixed up.

You got mixed up.

Indeed there is a problem, Daniel.

Right?

You couldn't be two places at once.

I think I went back inside.

What bothers me is how sure you were

before the reenactment.

You said in your statement:

"Each piece of tape feels different."

"I wouldn't get it wrong."

And:

"I was just below the open window."

"I know what I heard."

Then, during the reenactment,

you said something else entirely.

How come?

I thought

I remembered where I was, but..

Maybe the shock of what happened next

got me mixed up.

A psychiatrist who met with Daniel

says emotional shock

may have altered some memories.

Of course.

Do you remember now

why you came back inside?

I think I must've forgotten..

my gloves or my phone.

But you're not sure?

I don't remember exactly.

So, you went from absolute certainty

to uncertainty

about your memories of that day.

This is very problematic.

You're fixating on one detail

in his memory

to cast doubt on his whole memory.

What do you want us to believe?

That shock may have turned yelling

into calm voices?

You insinuate

he lied to protect his mother.

No.

I'm merely signaling

the witness's doubts.

But we are entitled to wonder.

Daniel Maleski says he would leave

when his parents fought.

Whereas on that day,

he happens to go out

right when an argument

is likely to erupt.

Thus, he doesn't hear a thing.

I didn't happen to go out.

I fled the music.

And he's very precise

about what he heard.

He's never budged on that.

The psychiatrist

and visual impairment expert

both observed

Daniel's excellent aural memory.

Clerk, please display

the elements provided by Mr. Balard.

We're listening.

The decisive element here

is the three blood spatters

on the woodshed,

as indicated on the sketch.

Can we zoom in on the woodshed?

Their shape is typical of spatter

projected from high above.

They are long and narrow.

The longest measures 4 centimeters,

which is a lot.

So, according to our tests,

these spatters

could only have landed here

if Mr. Maleski was struck on the head

while on the 3rd floor balcony.

He would have to have been

leaning over the balcony,

his head already quite far out

when the blow was struck,

for the spatter to land there.

No other explanation stands.

Did the v*olence of the blow

make Mr. Maleski fall?

Most likely,

it was the combination

of a violent blow

and a deliberate push.

Would you say the aggressor

was in a state of extreme anger,

to provoke a fall after

administering such a violent blow?

A state of rage, I'd say.

Hard to imagine anything less.

Such states

can increase physical strength.

The guardrail is 1.2 meters high.

Comes up to about here.

Mr. Maleski was 1.82 meters tall

and weighed 85 kilos.

So, pushing him over that guardrail

would have required

a very deliberate push, right?

The entire act was very deliberate.

Such a blow is always intentional.

What I mean by very deliberate is..

very coordinated. Methodical.

Based on his weight, we can assume

it was necessary to lift his legs

to make him fall,

which hardly suggests rage.

Rage does not exclude will.

And Mr. Maleski was probably

already off-balance.

He may have fallen

as much from the blow

as from his own unstable position.

As I said,

we have no material elements..

Except those 3 drops of blood.

Everything else must be speculated

to explain those drops, right?

OK, but the only explanation

is the one I gave.

You gave us a theory,

not an explanation.

Actually, two theories.

With and without a deliberate push.

According to your theories,

what type of object was used?

A heavy object, probably in metal

or dense wood,

and undoubtedly with a sharp edge.

Did you examine any such objects

found on the premises?

You know no w*apon was found.

They're easily disposed of.

No further questions.

Two possible explanations

for these 3 spatters.

Either they came from here,

after a violent blow.

Or they resulted when the skull

hit this roof ledge,

approximately here.

The first hypothesis is unlikely.

It's inconsistent with the shape

and movement of the spatters.

Focusing on the second hypothesis,

we must take into account

the bounce caused by the impact

on the roof ledge.

I'll show you a video

of our in-situ tests.

There.

As you can see

in our reenactment with a dummy,

such an impact

causes the body to turn abruptly.

And during that rollover, or spin,

a fraction of a second after impact,

these 3 spatters are projected

onto this surface.

The only valid explanation

is that Mr. Maleski

fell from the attic window.

I believe it's the only way

he could've bounced off the roof,

and sustained such an injury.

You use the cautious qualifier

"I believe".

So it's your opinion.

How do you explain

the lack of DNA or trace tissue

at the point of impact,

or "bounce" as you call it?

I'll show you.

This is a test we carried out

under comparable conditions.

At the time of the incident,

there was a layer of ice

underneath a thick layer of snow.

We see the snow melting

in acceleration.

And we can see,

during 1 hour and 50 minutes,

that the runoff

takes with it all residue

embedded at the point of impact.

It ends up with the blood

that was already

down here.

You call the violent blow hypothesis

"improbable".

Would you call it impossible?

No, but highly improbable.

Meaning it is possible.

As it's possible

I'll be president someday.

I know the definition.

It's improbable for a reason.

In your hypothesis,

in order to explain the angle

of these 3 spatters,

we have to imagine

that Mr. Maleski's head

was leaning way out,

around 80 cm past the guardrail.

This implies the aggressor forced him

to lean backwards over the void,

shoving him against the guardrail,

his entire torso pitched backwards.

The aggressor would have

to be leaning very far out

while holding a heavy object

and striking the victim

with powerful momentum.

All these elements,

in addition to

the defendant's body mass,

make this hypothesis highly improbable.

But not impossible.

Listen Daniel,

I asked to see you because..

I know you have a vested interest

in this case.

I've allowed you

to attend the trial so far.

But tomorrow will be

far more complicated.

We'll be covering

some disturbing details,

so I've decided

you won't be attending.

I think I can hear anything.

What?

I think I can hear anything.

- Yeah?

- I'm prepared.

You can hear it,

but can you handle it?

We have a job to do.

We need to be able to work..

with serenity.

I've never disrupted the trial.

Disrupted..

That's not the point.

We need to be able

to evoke the facts bluntly.

We have to address everything,

without fear of hurting you.

I've already been hurt.

And that's why I need..

to hear, so I can get past it.

The trial is not about you hearing.

It's about establishing the truth,

without being forced

to censor ourselves.

When has anyone

censored themselves?

Even if you forbid me to come,

I'll find out.

I'll know what happened

from TV, radio, internet.

I'll be obsessed.

Mrs Voyter, you claim

your husband attempted su1c1de

6 months before he d*ed.

You remembered late,

which is quite surprising.

Can you describe

the episode in detail?

Yes.

It happened a few weeks

after he stopped his medication.

I found him lying on the floor..

early in the morning, in his room.

He'd..

had a lot to drink..

The night before, and passed out.

He'd vomited,

and in the vomit, I saw aspirin.

The pills had nearly dissolved.

At first I didn't understand

what it was.

But later, I found..

empty blister packs

in the kitchen garbage.

I cleaned it all up

and put him in bed.

Later,

when he felt better,

he didn't want to discuss it.

He just said he'd

stopped his meds too soon.

You had separate bedrooms?

It was his office,

and he usually slept there, yes.

I see. What made you

go into his room so early?

I wake up very early.

He did too, sometimes.

We occasionally spent that time

together, talking.

At 6 in the morning?

Yes, if I saw the light on. Yes.

We'd stopped sharing a bed,

but we were very close.

I would often..

finish the night with him,

in the office bed.

I'd gone down to make coffee.

I saw his door was ajar, and..

I saw him lying on the floor.

No one else witnessed that?

No.

Thank you, you may sit down.

Did you know that?

No.

Which antidepressant

did you prescribe?

Escitalopram, 20 mg per day.

- Was it his choice to stop?

- Yes.

About 7 months before he d*ed

he wanted to wean off.

I recommended a tapering plan

with weekly check-ins.

Any suicidal ideation?

No, Samuel wasn't depressive.

I'd prescribed Escitalopram

as an emotional shield

to help him cope

after his son's accident.

Can sudden withdrawal from a low dose

trigger a su1c1de attempt?

Anything's possible in theory,

but why would he have asked me

to help him wean off,

then stop behind my back?

Makes no sense.

And no mention of it

in our weekly sessions?

Have you ever had a patient

commit su1c1de,

or attempt su1c1de?

In French, "committing su1c1de"

means both trying and succeeding.

It's the action.

Thanks for the language lesson.

No patient has committed su1c1de.

Aside from Mr. Maleski,

since we're here

to rule on the question.

In any case,

we can't consider you

an expert on su1c1de,

failed or successful.

You said your husband

refused to discuss it with you,

or anyone else, apparently.

Why, do you think?

Because he was ashamed.

He had a lot of..

It's too complicated.

Can I change the language, please?

Thanks.

Yeah, I think because he was ashamed.

Samuel had

a lot of issues with shame.

It's complicated.

He was frustrated with teaching in the first place,

It had become a burden,

and he wanted to write.

He'd been working

on a novel for years,

before and after Daniel's accident.

I read everything he wrote back then.

I thought it was really good

and I told him so.

But from one day to another,

he just..

couldn't do it anymore,

he just stopped.

And.. It made him feel like a coward.

He would belittle himself.

And.. He ended up convincing himself

he could not write

because of his dependency

on the medication.

And.. he wanted to free himself of that,

and he could not, of course not..

I'm sorry, I'm not finished.

He could not talk about

the su1c1de attempt

because his feelings of failure

were just too painful. And..

He never spoke of that.

Not once.

No he blamed you for getting him hooked

on the pills from the first session.

And it drove him mad.

He and I decided together.

You can't deny you're at the center

of this equation.

Samuel came to see me

because he felt guilty,

but mostly because you blamed him.

He described your behavior

as quite castrating.

You made him pay

for the accident

by forcing him to give up

what mattered most to him:

Writing.

You put him on

an emotional roller coaster.

On the one hand, it's true,

you encouraged him to write,

wanted him to succeed.

But if he had,

it would've been unbearable for you.

That's the problem.

It may have been subconscious.

All the material

and psychological burdens

resulting from the accident

were his to bear.

It's as though you said,

"This is your problem."

"You're responsible. Deal with it."

"I want to free myself from that,

to write."

Material burdens

were managed by Mrs Voyter

as much as her husband.

We have their bank statements,

receipts, etc.

I'm also talking about

the emotional load.

Responsibilities, sense of purpose,

anxiety.

In those areas,

Samuel felt an unbearable imbalance.

So what your patients

tell you is the truth?

As a psychoanalyst,

you never wondered

whether Samuel Maleski

might've needed to imagine

an unbearable imbalance

to prevent himself from writing?

After a while, I can tell

what's real and what isn't.

Lucky you.

I'm sorry

to interrupt, I'm sorry.

But..

I don't know. You come here,

OK, with maybe your opinion,

and you tell me

who Samuel was

and what we were going through.

But what you say is just a..

it is just..

a little part of the whole situation.

You know.

I mean, sometimes,

sometimes a couple..

is kind of a chaos

and everybody is lost. No?

Sometimes we fight together

and sometimes we fight alone,

and sometimes we fight against

each other, that happens.

And I think it's possible that Samuel

needed to see things

the way you describe them, but..

If I'd been seeing a therapist,

he could stand here too and say

very ugly things about Samuel.

But would those things be true?

Did you resent your husband

after your son's accident?

We were both dealing with

very different emotions at that time.

Yes or no?

Yes, for a few days.

Daniel was on his watch.

Your son practically lost his sight,

and you only resented him

for a few days?

Yeah, about his responsibility

for the accident. Yes.

Of course.

I mean, maybe. The doctor earlier said

something about a tragic situation.

I immediately refused

to see it that way.

I never saw Daniel as handicapped.

You know, I wanted to protect

him from that perception.

Because, as soon as you mark a child

that way, you condemn him to not,

to not see his life as his own,

whereas he should feel

that it's his best life

because it's the only life he's got,

it is his own.

He reads books,

he goes on social media

like any other kid

he plays the piano,

he dreams, he cries, he laughs.

He's a very lively kid.

He's OK.

Yeah.

So perhaps, I..

I resented Samuel for projecting

his own pain onto Daniel, yes.

Thank you.

I want to drink all night.

Yeah, same.

I will drink.

To forget.

Come on. You're the only lawyer..

OK, once again.

No, you're really

the only lawyer I know.

Is it a great reason for putting

your life in someone's hands?

- Is it?

- No, but you're good too.

Right? - Ah? Yeah?

- Aren't you? You're good.

- I don't know.

- Oh, come on.

You look like a dog.

- Oh, I'm-- No, no.

- What, excuse me?

No, a beautiful dog. You know, the..

How do you say it? The.. un basset?

Basset? Basset? You say that?

It's funny you say that.

I can't trust someone

if I can't put

an animal's head on them.

Really? So what am I?

I'm not sure yet.

-What?

-I don't know.

After all this time,

you still don't know?

OK.

Vincent?

Sandra?

Do you remember me from before,

when we first met?

Yes I do, of course.

I don't. What was I like?

You were a little bit lost,

as I can remember.

Lonely.

And..

Ambitious.

And I was hopelessly in love.

I can't remember a thing.

OK.

But I'm innocent.

You know that, right?

Yes.

I mean really.

I don't know what you're thinking really.

I think a lot of things

I don't tell you.

Otherwise you'd fire me right now.

No, Vincent.

In your head, you're thinking..

aren't you, because sometimes,

when you look at me,

just like right now,

I can feel that you're judging me.

I don't know what you think.

Sandra, I believe you.

I'm not judging you.

My love,

I just want you

to know one thing.

I'm not.. I am not that, that..

I'm not that monster, you know?

Everything you hear in the trial,

it's just..

It's twisted. You know.

And..

And it wasn't

like that, you know.

Your father..

Your father was my soulmate.

We chose each other, and I loved him.

But how do you prove that?

I just wish you would be shielded

from all this, you know,

that you could do..

that you could do children's stuff,

just a little bit,

that you could be a child

just a little longer. You know.

All rise!

You may be seated.

We'll begin by calling the

Chief Investigator to the bar.

He insists, it's important.

You may be seated.

The Chief Investigator

has surely arrived,

so we'll start with him.

Clerk, please cue Exhibit 31.

Bailiff, prepare to hand out

the transcription

of the recording to the jurors.

Clerk?

What do you expect me to do?

I mean, it's part of the job,

you have to organize

yourself differently.

I'm not going to cancel.

How am I supposed

to get organized

differently on my own?

You know

we have to plan things together.

I'm not just going

to leave Daniel alone

because you're off

doing your own thing.

Leave him with Monica,

what's the big deal?

Three days a week?

We'd have to pay her for that.

We can't afford it.

I need time.

Not just a few hours.

I'm talking about blocking out time

for myself for the whole year.

This isn't working for me anymore.

Well, organize your time differently

if you want to, it's up to you.

When's the last time you've helped him

-doing his homework? -It's delicious.

There's a ton of things you don't give a sh*t about,

but that's the time I'm talking about.

Darling, the book just came out,

you know very well it's just this time--

It's always "just this time".

Whether you have a book out,

or you're writing,

or you need space

to figure out what to write.

I mean, I've been following

your lead for years!

I can't do anything with my time.

Do you understand?

It's not my time, it's yours!

Do I force you to teach?

Do I force you

to homeschool Daniel?

No one's forcing you.

If you want to make more time for yourself,

I've never stopped you.

Are you f*cking serious?

I cut my course load in half this year

to gain more time

and it's still not enough.

I have to finish the renovation,

plus I'm dealing with everything else.

Why do you refuse to talk about it?

Why can't you just admit it has to do

with how things are divided between us?

Because you're wrong.

I don't owe you any time.

I do my part.

C'mon, let's not start taking

inventory here, please.

Let's relax.

I love you.

When you decided

to homeschool Daniel,

I told you be careful.

It's a beautiful, generous choice,

and I thank you for it,

but you don't have to do it, and

I told you it would force you..

What? - ..cut your..

Force me to spend more time

with my son?

I'm glad I did.

I wouldn't have the relationship

I have with him today if I didn't.

Yeah, the relationship

that I don't have with him

is what you meant to say.

-No, I didn't say that. No. No.

I'm saying maybe,

just maybe, things are little

out of balance between us.

And I want you to take a look at that.

Why is this so hard to discuss?

First of all, I don't believe in the notion

of reciprocity in a couple.

It's naive and frankly it's depressing.

Yes. And I think

discussing it is a waste of time,

considering the state

you're in. Seriously.

All this blah-blah-blah,

and more time is gone.

All this time spent chitchatting

could be spent in silence

doing whatever you want to do,

if only you knew what it is that..

I want time to start writing,

same as you.

Do it.

I don't know a single writer

who doesn't write just because he has a son and

a house and groceries to buy.

Stop whining about

your scheduling bullshit

and drop this logic which

comes down to casting blame on me

for what you did or didn't do.

I live with you.

I plan my life around you.

If I imposed on you

what you're imposing on me,

neither of us would be able to write.

Don't worry about me,

I always manage to write.

Great.

Perfect. Yeah.

I mean, if you're so sure of yourself,

adapt-- that's all I'm asking.

I do adapt.

I take Daniel to school.

- Once a week.

- We have Monica on Tuesdays, come on.

No, Sandra, don't be dishonest.

- I'm not. You're the one nitpicking.

- I've given you too much.

Too much time,

too many concessions.

I want this time back.

And you owe it to me. Be fair!

I'm sorry, but no.

Are you insane?

I don't owe you anything.

Really.

This is about your relationship

with your son.

And to protect

yourself and your comfort,

because you got scared and

put yourself in that position.

It was your choice to come here

and start this renovation.

This is your own trap!

-You're talking about the past.

I don't take your time,

you waste it all on your own!

I want things to change now.

I want time to start writing again.

Great, go for it.

If you want my advice,

go back to the one you ditched.

That's your advice?

Go back to the book you plundered?

Okay, now it's plundering?

Okay. We've discussed it.

You'd given up.

You took the book's best idea,

how am I supposed to just "go back to it"?

Do you realize

how cynical that is of you?

You can publish your own version

and say it inspired me,

I'll admit to it.

If something needs to be written,

someone has to write it. You know.

You know what, you have animal vision.

You pretend to be obliging, but..

Look at you, even your bullshit moral,

it's bullshit moralizing what you do.

And this, really, is a way

for you to waste more time.

You should be flattered

that I was inspired by you.

This is life,

things circulate, you know.

Yes.

And frankly, I wish

you'd be inspired to plunder me.

You're not alone in your jungle, I live with you

and you impose everything.

You impose your rhythm,

your use of time,

you even impose your language.

When even it comes to language,

I'm the one meeting you on your turf.

We speak English at home.

I'm not on my turf,

I don't speak my mother tongue.

You don't speak mine either.

Even though we live here.

Yes, it's a middle ground, in fact.

Yes. Because I'm not French,

you're not German.

So we create a middle ground, so nobody has to meet

the other on their turf.

This is what English is for, it's our meeting point,

you can't blame me for that.

But we live in France.

That's our reality.

Daniel hears you speak a language

that has nothing to do his life.

Just because you impose it on him,

just like everything else.

We're on your turf, all the time.

Yeah, in your country.

Every single day I have to accept

that we live in your hometown!

The people that you grew up

with, they look down on me

whenever I don't make the effort

to smile at them.

You don't think me living here

counts as meeting you on your turf?

-You never smile at anyone.

-Yeah!

That's why you love me, right?

Because if you wanted to have some stupid bitch

who grins at your friends at the ski slopes,

you'd have picked someone else.

You really have no shame.

That's your superpower,

it allows you to see no one

but yourself.

I see you very clearly,

I just don't see you

as a victim.

You impose

your way of living, speaking, eating,

even f*cking.

I could never get you to f*ck

any other way.

Because you expect me to follow your

lead, that's your notion of what a couple is.

I don't believe it;

I don't believe it..

I don't have a notion, I don't

give a f*ck about couples. Really.

So, you say I'm stopping you

from f*cking the way you want.

- Seriously?

- Yes.

Be honest. Who's been refusing

to f*ck since the accident?

You know damn well

I meant before.

What did I ever

refuse to do sexually?

Everything.

Everything plus I have to accept

that you f*ck other people.

I do not f*ck other people.

Don't deny it.

Once, and you cling to it

in order to suffer!

-You have f*cked other people!

- You make yourself the victim!

I'm not a victim,

I'm a man who's been cheated on!

Plundered and cheated on.

I can live without sex,

but not forever.

So what, you're blaming me?

I'm the one frustrating you?

It's not about who's..

who's blaming who

or who's frustrating who.

The frustration is there

and we're both dealing with it,

you see.

Me personally

I refuse to rot inside,

so I find solutions.

and at this point, sex was a question

of personal hygiene!

Yes, but you impose your solutions,

which are solutions for you only.

You don't give a sh*t

if it hurts me and Daniel.

You leave Daniel out of the game here.

This is not about Daniel.

I do not impose anything on Daniel.

You made us live here

among the goats.

You complain about the life

that you chose!

You're not a victim.

Not at all!

Your generosity conceals

something dirtier and meaner.

You're incapable of facing

your ambitions and resent me for it.

But I'm not the one who put you where you are.

I've nothing to do with it!

You're not sacrificing yourself,

as you say.

You choose to sit on the sidelines

because you're afraid!

Because your pride

makes your head explode

before you can even come up

with a little germ of an idea!

And now you wake up and you're forty,

and you need someone to blame.

You're the one to blame!

You're petrified

by your own f*cking standards

and fear of failure.

This is the truth.

You're smart.

I know you know I'm right.

And Daniel has nothing to do with it.

Stop it!

You're a monster.

Even Daniel says it,

with his own words.

Take that back,

you piece of sh*t.

-You take that back.

He's told me countless times

how hard you are,

do you know that?

He's telling you

what you want to hear.

He can feel your guilt

and he's trying to reassure you,

don't you see that?

You've never stopped

feeling guilty about him!

You're cold-hearted.

You have no pity.

Yes, and you have

way too much for yourself.f.

I can't stand any more

of your f*cking ice!

- You're violent!

Yes, I am violent!

So..

Can you tell us

where you found this recording?

On a USB key belonging to the victim.

He made several dozen recordings

on his cellphone.

For 6 months, he'd been recording

moments from, his life.

For a literary project, apparently.

Did he transcribe all the recordings?

Yes, except this last argument.

Does your investigation link

this argument to his death?

Yes. They occurred 20 hours apart

and have common themes.

He criticizes her infidelity.

A pretty girl comes the next day.

A literature student,

to interview Sandra Voyter

about her books.

There must've been

tension in the air.

The two women

were enjoying themselves

while he worked hard upstairs.

The argument can be seen as

a dress rehearsal for the next day.

How do you interpret

the violent outbursts?

We hear blows.

A physical altercation,

the accused striking her husband.

What makes it possible for you

to reach that conclusion?

She seems to be

in a more intense state of rage.

- Sorry?

- Speak directly to the court.

She's clearly

in a more intense state of rage.

Her shouts at the end of the audio

are the last step

before the v*olence gets physical.

The confusion that follows

is hard to analyze, but..

we hear blows to a body or a face,

and the muffled screams we hear

are Mr. Maleski's.

You mentioned

bruises on Mrs Voyter.

Show Exhibit 9, please.

This photo was taken

on the day her husband d*ed.

How did she explain it?

She initially told us

she'd bumped into a kitchen counter.

We pointed out that the bruising

was around her wrist,

and looked a lot

like signs of a struggle.

Later, when we played her

the recording,

she admitted it had happened then,

during their brief struggle.

So you admit you lied?

Yes.

Because..

I was afraid

that if I mentioned it,

um, yeah, I knew it would make me a suspect

and I got scared.

And you didn't know

he'd recorded the fight.

So you lied twice.

About the bruises,

and by not mentioning the fight.

For me, it was just one lie.

Because, if I'd been honest about the

bruises, I'd have mentioned the argument.

I didn't want to be seen as guilty.

As no guilty person ever does.

Can we time the bruises exactly?

The doctor examined her

the following day.

It was too late to determine exactly

when they occurred.

So it's possible

a second fight caused the bruises

on the day Mr. Maleski d*ed.

What do we hear

at the end of the argument?

The first sound of breaking glass

is me throwing a glass

against the wall..

it's a wine glass that stood on the table.

And after that, I, ahem, went over to my husband

and I slapped him.

And that's when he grabbed

my wrist quite violently

and that's the struggling

we can hear.

And just after, I tried to stop him from

throwing picture frames to the floor

but I couldn't,

so we hear them shattering.

Aside from that slap,

did you hit him?

No.

What we hear next

is Samuel repeatedly hitting himself

in the face and in the head,

and then punching the wall.

You can still see the dent.

Um, there are a few of them around the house,

it's not the first time he'd done that.

Years ago, he already broke a finger

punching the wall during an episode.

We have photos

of those dents in the wall.

Thank you.

Here.

And the X-ray

of his fractured finger,

taken in June 2017

at the hospital in Grenoble.

Is it fair to say

your depiction of the v*olence

is interpretive and not objective?

She repeatedly lied to us,

so believing her..

Thus, this is about believing,

or not believing.

It's a subjective opinion,

based on an ambiguous recording.

You link the argument

of the day of the death.

You call it a "dress rehearsal".

Do you have any direct proof?

The recording

is direct proof of a fight.

I mean the day of the death.

With no witnesses or confessions,

we must interpret.

In fact, this violent fight is..

phantasmal.

It exists only as fantasy.

You float the idea,

the prosecutor floats it,

over or around the facts,

making it omnipresent

here in court, but..

We risk turning this fantasy

into a reality

simply because

there was indeed a fight

the day before Mr. Maleski d*ed.

Don't substitute the day before

for the next day.

We can't fill the blanks

with a supposition,

simply because we have sounds

for one and not the other.

Mrs Voyter,

did you know he'd recorded

you before you were told?

No, but I knew that he often recorded

moments of our lives.

He didn't always let you know?

What were these recordings?

At first, he would mention it.

Yes, but after a while he did it

without us really knowing.

He recorded conversations,

Daniel's piano lessons,

and sometimes just himself,

talking to himself.

And I think he did that because

he wanted to gather material

to help him start writing again.

Now, with hindsight,

it seems possible

that he could have provoked

this fight just to record it.

Wait, are you implying

you're the victim of a twisted man?

Seriously?

He recorded her in secret.

It's a valid question.

You forget the situation is perverse.

Now the victim is on trial!

No, but my client has a point.

Can you explain

what he means by cheating,

and how he found out?

He went through my phone

and he discovered messages

from a woman I'd met

at the beginning of that year.

What do you mean by "met"?

It was sexual,

we slept together twice.

Twice?

Yes.

On the recording you said once.

It meant with just one person.

Hang on..

Samuel mentions

numerous affairs in the past.

It sounds like

you cheated constantly.

That's not true.

I had a few flings

the year of Daniel's accident.

And it wasn't cheating,

because Samuel knew.

He found out each time?

No, I told him.

It was a tricky year.

You want us to believe

he agreed to it?

I'm not saying that,

I'm just saying I was honest about it.

Interesting take on honesty.

But the year he d*ed

you quit being honest, why?

Things were different.

I felt that it would hurt him

too much at that time.

Because you had feelings

for that woman?

No, I felt it would hurt him too much

because he was fragile.

And..

As I said,

with her it was just sexual.

And the person I had feelings for

was Samuel.

Interesting take on feelings.

I'm trying to understand.

At first you agreed

on an open relationship,

then that changed?

I don't even know what

that means really I'm sorry.

No, pardon.

No, we never had

that kind of agreement, or something like that.

After the accident,

we were both trying to feel better.

And I needed that

to keep it together,

and I was honest about it.

But then you quit being honest,

and he held you accountable.

He doesn't sound "fragile".

- Do you admit he was jealous?

- Yes.

OK. Had he become obsessed?

No, I don't-- I don't know.

He was hurt, that's true.

And, uh, sometimes when we fought,

he brought it up.

But he didn't think about it

all the time.

According to your logic,

all of Samuel's problems

were my fault.

That's not true.

I mean, his pain came

from deeper places.

According to "his" logic

you're to blame, as we heard.

What does he mean when he says

his work was plundered?

No. There never was any..

There wasn't any plundering.

In the that book he abandoned,

and that's important,

there was a very interesting passage..

A passage?

How many pages?

About 20.

Oui. Yeah, it was just

a rough outline, and I thought

the idea was brilliant.

Can you summarize it?

Must we enter into a literary debate?

This isn't literary, it's concrete.

It's the heart of their conflict.

I don't know how else

to present it to the jurors.

Nor do I.

Proceed.

Well..

this passage was about a guy imagining

how his life would've been

without the accident

that k*lled his brother.

One day, he wakes up, and finds himself

in two different realities.

One where the accident

is the center of his life,

and one where the accident

never happened.

I told Samuel I loved it.

He had me read

everything he wrote back then.

And soon after,

he abandoned the whole book.

And I asked him if I could use the idea

and he said yes.

No.

He couldn't have,

he calls it plundering.

It's an argument.

People exaggerate and alter facts

when they argue.

It's no exaggeration to say his

book became yours: "ECLIPSE".

All I took was this idea.

My characters are a woman

and her daughter,

and I developed the story

over 300 pages.

I can't believe I must tell you what's the

difference between an outline and a novel?

He agreed to it.

And when he read it, he told me

I did something very different with it.

And sometimes, yes, when we argued

it came out, because..

he was upset

because he couldn't write.

The only thing we know for sure

is that "it came out".

Did the two of you..

argue again

before the time of his death?

It must've been very tense.

We were..

we were both really shaken.

We were both keeping to ourselves.

And Samuel, he was..

I don't know, something was gone.

He was depleted,

his energy was just gone.

In the audio, I hear Samuel Maleski

arguing strenuously.

I hear a man determined

to regain control of his life.

In no way

a man who has decided to give up.

Samuel's psychiatrist said he was

combative in their last sessions.

Do you k*ll yourself after fighting

for time and self-esteem?

Do you k*ll yourself after pleading

so fiercely and energetically

for balance and justice

in your relationship? No.

That's the main flaw

in the su1c1de theory.

You say he seemed "depleted".

His energy was gone.

May I read from one of Mrs Voyter's

recent books, "The Black House"?

We judge facts, not books.

Judge, this is a slippery slope.

In 2017, Sandra Voyter herself

declared, and I quote,

"My books are linked to my life

and those in it."

Objection! She's always said

her work is fiction.

First book is her mother's death!

Second, a rift with her father.

Third, her son's accident, etc.

Her books are part of this trial.

Her life is in them,

her relationship in particular.

Go ahead, but keep it brief.

This is a wife

talking about her husband.

"He'd stopped complaining.

He'd given up."

"She studied him,

repulsed by his resignation."

"An idea sprouted in her mind,

a seed of deliverance."

"The possibility of his death."

Give us the context.

Later: "How does one k*ll?"

"What about the body? Its weight?

"She could think of nothing else.

"She saw him dead,

his body a lump no longer desired.

"The body she'd loved

was now in the way

and had to go."

I'll provide the context.

This is a minor character,

going insane,

who doesn't act on her thoughts.

A novel is not life!

An author is not her characters.

But an author can express herself

through her characters.

You flagged this passage.

How can we not see a link?

Is Stephen King a serial k*ller?

Did his wife turn up dead

in suspicious circumstances?

Focus on the facts!

Mr. Renzi,

I strongly advise you to calm down.

Prosecutor, I advise you

to follow Mr. Renzi's advice.

Focus on the facts.

Aside from the slap

you admitted to,

did you ever hit your husband?

No.

No. Never?

No.

That was the only time?

Yes.

You were always a good,

admirable soul,

altruistic, reasonable,

trying to save him from himself,

except on this recording?

Rotten luck!

Any more questions

for the witness?

I have one more, if I may.

I'd like to know if Maleski

sent the transcripts to anyone?

He sent them to a publisher friend,

Paul Nachez,

slated to publish his first novel.

Email from August 9, 2017:

"I'm writing again, I need your eye.

Still rough, eager to talk."

Nachez's response:

"Sure, send it and I'll read it."

Up to his death,

Maleski sent 4 texts a week.

What was their communication like?

The publisher never replied.

Apparently he was busy

and the project mystified him.

His friend's silence

must've hurt Mr. Maleski's

already low self-esteem.

He feels rejected.

When we read all the writing he sent,

it's difficult

to identify a storyline.

At best, it's a project.

Maleski is a "project man".

His first abandoned novel,

the chalet..

So, since we're being asked

to mix justice and literature,

to imagine what we don't know,

let's imagine

Samuel Maleski's final year.

And I'm dabbling in fantasy?

Give me half the time

you took to read a book!

Get to the point.

What was

Samuel Maleski's final year like?

After accumulating debt

from medical procedures in London,

he insists on returning

to his hometown.

He finds a chalet to fix up and rent.

They'll pay off their debts.

He'll quit teaching

and start writing full-time.

Renovation proves tricky.

They have to take out a loan.

A vicious circle begins.

Samuel needs his teaching wages.

Renovations drag on.

A year and a half later,

he feels trapped.

He's a wounded man.

His son's accident,

his abandoned novel,

his wife publishing book after book.

He must write!

He quits the antidepressants

and starts recording his life,

embarking on a kind of auto-fiction,

perhaps inspired by Sandra's method.

And why not?

She borrows from their lives.

She did borrow his idea.

Save it for your plea.

He's running.

But refuses to see that transcribing

is not writing.

His publisher friend's silence

humiliates him.

What do we hear

in the March 4th fight?

The energy, the willfulness..

What is it?

The energy of despair.

The final push before giving up.

In his final days, this man

isn't facing a w*r in his marriage.

He's facing his own failures.

Sandra Voyter is only guilty

of succeeding

where her husband failed.

Despite appearances, those were not

Mr. Renzi's closing arguments.

That wasn't Samuel.

It's Friday evening,

we have a weekend ahead of us.

Before I adjourn,

I have an announcement.

I've decided to call Daniel

back to the bar on Monday.

He has new information of interest.

Since the witness

is the defendant's son

and lives with his mother,

I'm asking everyone

to refrain from contacting him.

Obviously, if contact is inevitable,

refrain from discussing the trial.

Mrs Berger,

you'll stay with Daniel all weekend.

See to it these rules are respected.

I insist that no one,

absolutely no one,

can ask him about his testimony.

Have a good weekend,

get some rest.

Court is adjourned.

- Come get warm.

- Ready in 10!

You OK?

I think I want to be alone.

OK.

- You can eat in your room.

- No.

I want to be alone this weekend.

Before I testify.

Alone?

Just you and me?

Is that it?

Are you sure?

We can find other solutions.

It's a big house.

I want her to leave.

I just spoke to Daniel.

He wants to be alone this weekend.

Until the end of the trial.

Is that what you want?

OK. Is it because

of what you heard today?

Because, uh.. I couldn't talk to you

about all that before, do you understand?

We just weren't allowed

to talk to you about it..

No trial talk.

I know, I'm just talking to my son.

OK.

Okay? Um, I totally understand

that you need calm, but

I can just mind my own business,

keep to myself.

I won't talk to you

if you don't want to. Can we try that?

No speaking English.

You can talk to me.

Couldn't you and I discuss this,

and then you decide?

I think he's made his decision.

Yeah, I'll just get my stuff.

Somebody said,

of course money

doesn't make you happy,

but it's still better to cry in a car

than in a subway.

Who said that?

I don't know.

Sorry.

Go on.

Eat up.

Snoop..

Marge!

Marge, come quick, please!

What is it?

I gave him aspirin,

I messed up bad.

- You gave him aspirin?

- Yes!

How much?

8 or 10, I can't remember.

A lot.

Make him vomit.

Why'd you do that?

Make him vomit! Please!

OK, hang on.

"Make a dog vomit."

Hang on.

We need saltwater.

Be right back.

He's not moving.

Daniel, help me.

Open his mouth.

Easy.

That's right.

That's good.

He's coming around.

- What's happening?

- He's going to vomit.

That's it.

He'll be OK.

Good dog.

He's OK, he's breathing.

Looking at us.

Can you explain?

You know, I..

I'd never heard about..

my dad's su1c1de attempt.

I'd never heard about..

the shrink, the medicine..

the vomit and aspirin.

When my mom talked about it,

I remembered something

from around that time.

One morning,

Snoop was lying on my bedroom floor.

Not moving.

He smelled like vomit.

I figured he'd vomited.

I cleaned his muzzle.

I figured he'd..

I don't know, caught a virus

or something, because..

he acted strange for days.

He just slept or drank.

See? Now I'm thinking

maybe he ate my dad's vomit,

and "that" made him sick,

and Mom told the truth!

So my experiment with the aspirin

was to see how he'd react.

And you saw.

He slept for 14 hours.

Now he's drinking all the time.

He smells exactly the same!

Everything!

Everything's exactly the same!

But since..

Since yesterday,

I'm not sure if I believe her or not.

I knew they fought, but..

It wasn't..

I didn't think it was that violent.

Your memories are all you're sure of,

and it's important to tell the jury.

But you're just a witness.

Do you think she could've k*lled him?

It's not for me to judge.

I know,

but you could at least tell me!

I can't answer that.

My role is to protect you..

f*cking help me!

Actually,

when we lack an element

to judge something,

and the lack is unbearable,

all we can do is decide.

You see?

To overcome doubt,

sometimes we have to..

decide to sway

one way rather than the other.

Since you need to believe one thing

but have two choices,

you must choose.

So you have to invent your belief?

Yes, well.. in a sense.

So that means, I'm not sure..

and you're saying

I have to pretend I'm sure?

No, I'm saying decide.

That's different.

What strikes me is

we don't know who's more lyrical.

- The author or the character?

- Both, no doubt!

Voyter plays with confusion.

Her second book goes further,

telling how her father

couldn't stand the first.

Undoubtedly true.

The rift degenerates,

forcing her to leave her country.

Fearing her father's rage,

she falls prey to horrifying visions.

I found this troubling quote

in an interview. She says,

"My job is to cover the tracks,"

"so fiction can destroy reality."

Yes, and what excites people

about the Samuel Maleski case,

is that it seems to come

from one of her books.

It feels like

she's already written it.

Even the doubts around his death,

the way he d*ed,

Voyter's murky personality,

the amoral, deceptive traits

she seems to overplay..

It all reads like her books.

I don't think it matters how he d*ed.

The fact is, the idea of a writer

k*lling her husband

is far more compelling

than a teacher k*lling himself.

If I imagine my mother doing it,

I don't understand.

But if I imagine my father..

I think I can understand.

Prosecutor, any questions?

No.

The experiment on his dog

proves nothing.

It's not documented.

More problematic

are these providential memories,

clearly jarred

by what he heard during the trial.

No event can be placed

convincingly on our timeline.

The time frame of 6 months

before Maleski's death

comes only from testimony

given by the defendant herself.

I'd like to know..

Did you ever wonder

if the overdose

your father supposedly took

might've resulted

not from a su1c1de attempt,

but from an attempt by your mother

to poison him?

I'm not accusing,

just making a point.

So, taking these speculations,

why choose one over the other?

Your memories speak

to the consequences, not the causes.

Yes, I thought about that, but..

I don't see

why she would've done it.

It feels like when we lack proof

to make us sure

how something happened,

we have to look further,

as the trial is doing.

When we've looked everywhere

and still don't understand

how the thing happened,

I think we have to ask

why it happened.

Thank you, Daniel.

Are you finished?

No.

I want to say something else.

Since my dog was sick for days,

Dad and I went to the vet.

Dad was really quiet in the car.

He didn't even play music.

He usually always does.

After a while,

he started talking about Snoop.

He said,

"You know, he could get sick."

"Even die. You know that.

You need to be ready."

I didn't want to hear that.

Snoop was doing better.

He was still young.

He'd never been sick.

I told him he wasn't going to die.

But he kept going.

He said, "You need to be aware of it.

It'll happen someday."

"And it's no wonder Snoop gets tired."

"He's not so young in dog years."

"Can you imagine his life?"

"He's not just any dog."

"He's a great dog."

"An outstanding dog."

"Think about it.

He anticipates your needs,"

"foresees your movements,"

"keeps you safe from danger."

"He spends his life

imagining your needs"

"thinking about what you can't see."

"Maybe he's tired."

"Always caring for others."

"Maybe one day, he'll be done."

"That could happen."

And I remember at the end,

he said, "One day",

"when it's time

for him to go, he'll go."

"You won't be able to help it.

Prepare yourself, it'll be hard."

"But it won't be

the end of your life."

He meant himself.

Now..

Now I know he meant himself.

I implore the jurors to bear in mind

this story is extremely subjective.

In no way does it qualify

as any form of proof.

Yes Serge, we are still

outside the courthouse in Grenoble.

The trial was scheduled

to end on Friday,

but Sandra Voyter's son Daniel

insisted on testifying again

this morning.

The jury is still..

Daniel.

Mrs Voyter, how do you feel..

after being acquitted?

There were too many words

in this trial.

I've nothing more to say.

I want to call my son and go home.

Obviously I thank my lawyers,

who always believed in me.

Mr. Renzi, are you relieved?

I commend the jury,

who saw Sandra Voyter as she is..

Marge, it's Sandra.

Yes, it's incredible, we're relieved.

Does Daniel want to talk to me?

Of course, he must be tired,

I understand.

Does he mind if I come home tonight?

Would he prefer tomorrow, or..

OK, OK.

We'll get some dinner,

then I'll be home. See you then.

I need a drink.

Another!

Okay, deal!

Do you always.. Do you..

When you win,

do you always, like that?

- I mean, this is happening..

- We never win.

That's the f*cking first time

in our life we win!

- No!

- Yes, of course!

You told me you're a good lawyer,

and what is happening now?

- No, that's not true!

- No?

It's not spicy.

You have to try this, really.

Sandra, I ate too much.

I'm gonna throw up.

A quick smoke first.

Be right back.

Okay, no,

that you first, please.

It's not so easy, huh?

No. It's not,

it's with all the bones and..

After this, we go?

You're ready to go home?

I can.. I can drive.

I can.. I can drop you off.

One more.

For the road.

Of course, for the driver.

Okay, same?

Can I just get

two more of these? Thanks.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

-To you.

-To you.

Are you alright?

Tell me.

I just, I thought..

I thought I'd feel relieved.

It doesn't come right away.

You sure?

I'm not sure.

It's just, you know,

when you lose, you lose.

It's the worst thing that can happen,

and if you win, you..

kind of expect some reward..

But there isn't any.

It's just..

It's just over.

Maybe sometimes,

we expect too much.

Yeah, maybe.

Hi.

Sorry.

He tried to wait up but fell asleep.

Okay.

I'll be going now.

Not staying over?

No, I'll leave you be.

- Goodbye.

- Goodbye.

I was afraid of you coming home.

Me too, I was afraid to come home.