Category: Dramedy
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Wikipedia describes this movie as a romantic comedy-drama. Ha! It's hardly romantic. I've actually gone with Dramedy as the category because this movie is essentially a drama revolving around a marriage and tinged with some wonderfully subtle comedy.
I remember when this came out, there was lots of consternation by the online blowhards about a movie centering around sex work, as well as the controversy of a Russian (Yura Borisov) being nominated for an Academy award (Best Supporting Actor) because of all the naughty things Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine. Wow. Not racist at all! And this plays in to my tendency/preference to wait until hysteria about a movie has died down, to allow me to watch said movie with a fresh mind.
So to that end, Anora actually won five awards out of six Oscar nominations (though Borisov didn't win his nomination - would have been hella awkward if he did).
Anyway, let's break down the plot first.
Plot:
Anora (Mikey Madison) - but who prefers the shortened form of her name, Ani - works at a New York strip club when one night, the boss of the club demands Ani service a specific high-value patron because Ani can speak Russian (though not fluently). The patron is Ivan 'Vanya' Zhakarov (Mark Eydelshteyn), a young Russian man who prefers using his parents' wealth to party rather than study.
Vanya and Ani form a connection as Vanya repeatedly pays for private house visits from Ani to his lavish New York mansion. A bond grows between Ani and Vanya, to the point that Vanya books Ani for a week to be his "horny girlfriend" (which she agrees to). During the week away from the strip club, Vanya and his equally rich and delinquent Russian friends decide a trip to Las Vegas to score more drugs is what they need.
The week ends and Vanya reveals that he soon needs to go back to Russia to work in his father's business. He (at first jokingly) raises that being married to an American will allow him to stay in America, but this then turns into a legitimate proposal which Ani accepts. Vanya and Ani have a Las Vegas wedding and Ani quits her job at the strip club.
News of the marriage reaches Vanya's parents back in Russia and the thought of their son marrying a sex worker causes them to go in to damage control to which extent they strong-arm Toros (Karren Karagulian), a family friend and Orthodox priest, to handle the situation. In tow are Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnik (Vache Tovmasyan) who are muscle.
This then leads to the best scene in the film, and I'm one I'd argue is the best in recent cinema history:
While relaxing at home and enjoying each other's company, Vanya and Ani get a surprise visit at the mansion from Igor and Garnik who force their way in (despite Vanya's best efforts and Ani's protestations) as they wish to confirm Vanya's marriage. The marriage is confirmed by way of photographs of the marriage license and more commotion ensues as Garnik calls Toros who communicates the news to Galina (Darya Ekamasova), Vanya's mother. Toros immediately leaves church part way through a baptism service to drive over to the mansion while Garnik and Igor hold Vanya and Ani in place so that Toros can drag them out to get an anulment.
Garnik chases after Vanya (albeit unsuccessfully), leaving Igor to keep Ani from running away. Despite Ani's best efforts to resist being manhandled (and by God, she put up a helluva fight) Igor manages to finally subdue her, though not without injury. Garnik walks back in to the house to see the place is in a mess from Igor and Ani fighting, only to be injured himself as Ani forcefully kicks him in the face, breaking his nose (nicely complementing his tailbone injury from slipping on the ice in the driveway).
Toros finally arrives (having heard all of the commotion over the phone) and sees a scene of destruction and Ani tied up and gagged. Toros makes it clear that when they find Vanya, they will get the marriage annulled, though will pay Ani a "green card marriage fee" of $10K (so honourable!) despite Ani's protestations that her and Vanya are in love. Once everyone has calmed down and there is no obvious way out for Ani, the search for Vanya commences.
Ani, Toros, Igor and Garnik search New York for Vanya, looking in places that Vanya previously took Ani to and asking strangers there "have you seen this man?". Garnik's broken nose gets worse as he hasn't sought treatment, the only relief being a tablet that Igor gets for him - this leads to a hilarious scene where Garnik throws up in Toros' expensive car.
In the end, Vanya is located at the same strip club where he met Ani, but this time, he is being serviced by Diamond - Ani's rival. Vanya is on a drug bender, so he's not completely with it as Ani attempts to talk sense in to him. On the way out of the club, Ani and Diamond get into a fight, leaving Ani with facial injuries.
Toros, Vanya, Ani and Igor wait (overnight and in the car) out the front of the courthouse where Toros has arranged for the family lawyer to get an expedited appearance in front of a judge to annul the marriage. In yet another hilarious scene, a clearly drugfucked Vanya can't even stay upright while Toros keeps interjecting as Ani is trying to talk to the judge. The judge finally twigs that the marriage took place in Nevada, meaning that is where they need to go.
Everyone (minus Garnik) makes their way to Las Vegas airport where they wait in a small hangar for the arrival of Vanya's parents, Galina and Nikolai (Aleksei Serebryakov). Both the parents are pissed off, Galina more so, and her contempt for her daughter-in-law shows when Ani tries to introduce herself in Russian. They eventually wind up at a county office where the paperwork to get marriage annulled is signed, Ani being defiant up until the very end where she tella Galina that Vanya hates his mother so much that he married a prostitute to spite her (which causes the dad to burst into uncontrollable laughter).
Vanya is bundled on to the plane back with his parents while Igor takes Ani back to the mansion where she is allowed to stay for the night. During the night, they share cigarettes and have an awkward conversation as Igor's English is heavily accented, which concludes when Ani accuses Igor of wanting to have raped her if no-one else was around and then throws a blanket to him so he can sleep on the couch.
The next morning, Igor drives Ani to a bank and then back to her sharehouse out in the suburbs where he puts her luggage on the doorstep while Ani is still in the car. Ani and Igor get into a conversation about the old car Igor is driving, when suddenly Ani straddles Igor to initiate impromptu car sex in the driver's seat. Ani pushes away Igor's attempt at kissing her, to which end she breaks down crying while Igor comforts her.
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So Anora won numerous awards, and yeah, I can see why - it is an excellent film, easily slots into the Great category. Really, my only quibble with this movie is that it is too long - not helping matters is that the story doesn't really get going until 45 minutes in. It really feels like director Sean Baker was told "You have 139 minutes!" so he went "Dammit, I'm going to use every single one of them!".
One thing I loved about Anora is how there are numerous themes and topics that are expertly played out and displayed:
- The nature of relationships that are based on physical rather than emotional connections.
- Marrying an ideal of what we want the other person to be, rather than who they actually are.
- Sticking through a relationship once you've committed, and staying committed even though it causes you personal grief.
- Personal responsibility and maturity.
- Marrying in to a complicated family.
- Marriage as a way of improving your personal prospects, something we see highlighted in the very last scene where Ani is taken away from the mansion and back to her former suburban life where she has to go back to hustling. And Vanya who wants to marry because he doesn't want to go back to Russia.
In terms of the acting, two massive shoutouts. Mikey Madison - holy fucking shit! What a performance, and definitely Oscar-worthy! Yes, Ani is certainly pretty and attractive, but what stood out was the development of her character, and then the regression back to what she knows - sexuality. We see her develop a bond with Vanya that is physical, then financial, then one-sided as Vanya runs away and barely puts up a fight to keep the marriage alive once he absconds. Ani asserts herself as she spits venom at her former in-laws, then in the very last scene where she decides to have sex with Igor (who she previously showed hostility to) and then breaks down and cries.
I do also love her constant and repeated use of the word 'fuck'. Apparently, 'fuck' in some form is said over 400 times.
Yura Borisov did just an equally excellent performance as Igor who is indeed hired muscle, but he doesn't want to hurt Ani and later apologises to her for how he treated her. There is slow, growing bond between him and Ani despite his repeated displays of contempt for him.
And hands down, that scene with Ani, Vanya, Igor, Garnik and then Toros is one of the best I've seen. Magnificent stuff! I forgot how long the scene went, but all I know is that when it ended, I just wanted it to continue!
I did also like how a lot of the movie is in Russian. It feels like we're watching a world inside of our world, and given the numerous lines of dialogue in Russian, it makes everyone a bit more realistic. Alongside this is the fact that Garnik is Armenian, a race of Europeans who have historically faced their own struggle for identity, so a lot of his dialogue is in Armenian. My only quibble here is that there were a handful of lines that would have made more sense had they been said in Russian and not English.
Now, given that the main focus of the story of a sex worker, there is a LOT of nudity and sex scenes, but it's mostly breasts and butts. There is a fleeting glimpse of Vanya's penis, as well as a very provocative dance by Ani where she shows off her flexibility, but that's about it - if you're after an X-rated experience, this isn't it.
I honestly really, really, really, really liked this film - and it's probably the best film I've reviewed to not be Best In Class. But there is something to be said about pacing and what you include and how your inclusions and exclusions add to the overall story. Yes, you have 139 minutes, but do you have a story that can stay strong over that time? Contrast this with There Will Be Blood that actually went for 158 minutes (over 2.5 hours), but at no stage felt like there was a minute wasted.
Definitely a recommended watch, though!
STAR RATING: 4.5/5
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