Joey Magidson
Without question, the breakout star from Anatomy of a Fall has been Messi the dog. His performance as Snoop is an all-time animal performance, to be sure. The fact that he’s been a superstar on the awards season circuit is just kind of a wild bonus. About a month ago, I was asked if I wanted to interview Messi. Now, I was mildly confused, but also utterly delighted. Fast-forward to last week and Messi joined me on Zoom, along with his owner/trainer Laura Martin, and translator Frederic Cassidy. Plus, I wasn’t alone, as there’s an extra guest on board for a bit, as you’ll see in a bit. Those of you looking for some canine coaching tips, look no further!
In my review of the movie from back at the Toronto International Film Festival (here), I had the following to say about this riveting work:
Anatomy of a Fall engrosses you from start to finish. Is it perhaps a bit longer of a film than it needs to be? Maybe so, though I dare you to figure out where you’d make any trims. The length allows the courtroom sequences to breathe and feel more realistic. Plus, a centerpiece argument scene gets to be the showstopper and showcase that it really is meant to be. By the time the flick wraps up, your heart may well be racing.
Below, you can see my conversation with Messi as well as (mainly) with his owner/trainer, Martin. As a bonus, Awards Radar’s Executive Vice President, also known as my dog Bentley, sat in on some of the discussion. He’s not a professional pup like Messi, so he bounces pretty quickly, but I think it’s amusing all the same. Martin and I, through her translator, discuss exactly how you get a dog to perform on camera. It’s very interesting to me, especially since she’s his mom, too, so there’s such care and trust going on. If you didn’t love Messi before this, you’re going to be even more in love with him after, trust me there…
Here now is my interview with Anatomy of a Fall co-star Messi and trainer Laura Martin. Enjoy:
Anatomy of a Fall is available to watch right now!
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit jealous of you being able to interview this team. I didn’t even know that kind of dog acting was possible.
Right? Truly, and I say this without being silly, it’s one of the great dog performances of all time.
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