Anora (2024, R)

*Premise spoilers.*

I hadn’t realized at first that Anora was made by the same guy who did Tangerine and The Florida Project, both of which I liked quite a bit. I was kind of apprehensive going into this film, but I wound up really liking it.

What’s It About?

Ani, a young sex worker from New York, is asked to “look after” a young man at the club where she works. The enthusiastic, immature son of an oligarch, Ivan has requested a girl who speaks Russian, and Ani fits the bill. Lap dances at the club turn into private jobs at his place, which turns into “let me hire you to be my girlfriend for the week,” which turns into a green card marriage. Unfortunately for both Ani and Ivan, his parents are vehemently against this last point, and they send Ivan’s stateside minder (and a couple of enforcers) to ensure that the two newlyweds don’t stay married.

Who’s in It?

IMDb tells me I’ve seen Mikey Madison before, in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, but I couldn’t have picked her out from that. I like her a lot as Ani—she’s tough and unapologetic, but part of her attitude is also a shield to keep from getting hurt. Mark Eydelshteyn is a hoot as Ivan, fantastically capturing this gleefully hedonistic spoiled rich boy. I also really enjoy the guys Ivan’s parents send after them, especially Karren Karagulian as the long-suffering Toros and Yura Borisov as the quietly observant Igor.

What’s It Nominated For?

Anora was nominated for six Oscars:

·        Best Picture

·        Best Leading Actress – Mikey Madison

·        Best Supporting Actor – Yura Borisov

·        Best Original Screenplay

·        Best Director

·        Best Film Editing

What Do I Love About It?

·        Like the other Sean Baker movies I’ve seen, the story is kind of meandering, but the characters still have a clear goal that gives the film focus and direction. Even when they’re pulled in different directions, we still know why the characters are doing what they’re doing.

·        I like that everyone here gets some perspective. It’s natural to sympathize most with Ani, who’s been pulled into this wild, intense situation that she doesn’t want to be any part of. I definitely feel for her, first as she fights like mad to get away from all this and later as she’s begrudgingly, angrily dragged along with it. But I feel for Toros and his enforcers too. Even if they’re positioned as “the bad guys” opposing Ani and Ivan’s marriage, they are just doing their jobs, and none of them really want to be here either. You can practically see Toros’s blood pressure rising as he tries to get everything taken care of against the ticking clock. And Igor is doing his best to roll with the unexpected demands of the job, playing the part he’s supposed to while also having sympathy for Ani getting caught up in this madness.

·        The film does a nice job of shifting between drama and comedy. It makes use of both really well, and you’re just as likely to laugh at the characters’ fumbling antics as you are to sympathize with their frustrations of feeling trapped.

Warnings

·        Sexual content, violence, language (including sexist insults,) drinking/smoking/drug use, gross-out moments, and thematic elements.