- Release year: 2024
- Director: Sean Baker.
- Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco and Samantha Quan.
- Screenplay by: Sean Baker.
- Cinematography by: Drew Daniels.
- Music by: Keith Joseph Anderson.
Synopsis: an exotic dancer gets married to the son of an oligarch. His parents will do anything to get that marriage annulled.
Shotgun Commentary: hilarious, profound, original, and addicting.
Review
Anora is named after the protagonist of the feature, a young American woman of Russian descent that insists on getting people to call her Ani (Mikey Madison). She meets the son of an oligarch, Ivan (Mark Eidelshtein), at work, where he pays for her company. After two weeks of being together, he asks her to marry him. Everything seems to be going well until his parents find out.
Appearances can be deceiving… or not
What begins as yet another Euphoria-looking (2019 – present) story about young adults having sex and drugs like there’s no tomorrow, morphs into a twisted Pretty Woman (1990) narrative for a few seconds before becoming a hilarious Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) type of adventure. Following Guy Ritchie’s tradition of awkward gangsters, Anora offers a hilarious account that combines this archetype of characters with a young woman that resembles a stray cat more than an actual person in attitude. Violence, insults and manipulation become weapons for comedy rather than thriller in this warped story with the sweetest of endings.
The visuals also accompany the mood of the story throughout. From the bold neons and shinning glitters of the nightlife, to the golds and silvers of luxury, to the predominance of colder tones, all the colour palettes seem to follow Anora’s mood, her feelings and growth as she learns more about the situation she’s in. The delicate production design work really pays off as every shot is both beautiful and telling, working perfectly with the camera shots and movements to deliver an incredibly engaging story from a visual point of view.
Gestures over words
As for its textual value, the feature keeps things easy and straightforward, relying mostly on jabs and insults as the main forms of communications. This simplicity in the dialogues implies extra attention to the cast, who need to communicate most of the valuable information through their body language rather than remarks. The fine craftsmanship needed to deliver this type of performance doesn’t seem challenging at all, as the whole cast manages to physically transmit their thoughts effortlessly.
Madison brings yet another relatable, inspiring woman who compensates her rough upbringing and lack of formal education with intelligence, wit and, overall, a fire that protects her in any and all situations. Her character proves to be complex and fascinating despite her first impression, and her journey is absolutely riveting due to its contradictory nature. On the one hand, the emotional dimension of her path is heartbreaking and absolutely gorgeous. On the other, her physical journey is wild and hilarious. This combination of sentiment and laughter is so stunning that you can’t help but be hypnotised by it.
While all the supporting cast is great, it is Igor, played by Yura Borisov, who makes the best impression. His quiet demeanour and awkwardness creates side-splitting situations even in the most dramatic moments. As a newly-hired muscle, he is not taken very seriously by anyone, bosses and Anora included, which makes his presence and initially threatening look all the more ridiculous and fun. Igor is the kind of character that stays mostly in the background but whose presence would make for a completely different, definitely worse, feature.
All in all, Anora is definitely not what you would expect from the posters and marketing. Despite having a more than healthy amount of sex scenes, that is not the focus of the film. Luckily, it is about so much more than that. It provides some food for thought while making you laugh a lot more than you would expect from its premise.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Never trust rich people.
- Never thought I’d have to say this, but don’t marry people you don’t know.
- Always put your dignity first.
What’s your take? Have you watched Anora? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀