Anora: Dark Humor Reflective of a Bleak World

I know this film has been out for a while, but I finally got a chance to see it in a theater last weekend. It’s a strong film and is worthy of its Best Picture nomination, but it’s unlikely to be named the Best Picture of the Year. As much as I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t vote for it and would rank it somewhere in the middle of the pack of this year’s nominees. I’m glad the Academy recognized it, however, because it’s an interesting character study, and it has the vibes of a modern-day fairy tale.

WARNING! SPOILERS!

On the surface, Anora is a modern-day Cinderella, but it has a much darker ending than the version Disney gave us more than 70 years ago. There is no happy ending in this movie, and Ani (Mikey Madison) doesn’t get her Prince Charming. In fact, Anora is a film that is reflective of the times we currently live in, and screenwriter/director Sean Baker clearly looks at our world as bleak, especially for marginalized people.

Anora is about Ani, an exotic dancer and call girl who performs for Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. Striking up a connection with each other, Ivan pays for her services for a week. She falls in love with him, and he seemingly falls in love with her. On an impromptu trip to Vegas, they get married. Once his parents get wind that their son married a prostitute, they demand that the marriage be annulled and send their henchmen, Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnik (Vache Tovmasya), and Igor (Yura Borisov) to force Ivan and Ani to the courthouse sign the annulment.

And mad-capped mayhem ensues.

Baker’s script, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, is fantastic. As a screenwriter, Baker hit all the right beats and gave us a script with a tight Hero’s Journey and a complex set of thematic components that made this a stunningly thoughtful film. There is a lot of sex and nudity, but none of it feels gratuitous. We see the world that Ani lives in. She is navigating it as best she can, and she is good at what she does. She even seems to enjoy it on a personal level for the friends she has and the people she interacts with, but it is a world in which she is objectified. This is her archetypal Ordinary World, and she needs to escape it. She Crosses the Threshold, entering the Special World that Ivan introduces her to, and she fights hard to remain in it.

I am going to write a more detailed breakdown of the screenplay in a future blog, so stay tuned.

From there, the story is dramatic, and the characters are dynamic. Madison is nominated for Best Actress, and Borisov is nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and the chemistry between their characters carries the second half of the film until its utterly heartbreaking ending. Madison brings empathy, sympathy, and likability to a character who is so far on the margins that we should not be able to relate to her. But her performance allows the audience to engage with her on an emotional level and to empathize with her struggles so that we care for her and root for her in surprising ways.

Borisov’s performance is much more subtle as the tough guy with a heart of gold who seemingly understands the moral and ethical ambiguity of what he’s doing. We spend much of the second half of the film looking at Ani through his eyes, even though she seemingly couldn’t care less about his opinions.

Aside from his screenwriting, Baker also distinguishes himself as a director, and he has garnered an additional Academy Award nomination in that category. Baker crafted a film with dynamic, thoughtful cinematography, outstanding acting performances, and a story with a tight dramatic structure and attention-grabbing thematic components.

I mentioned earlier that this is like a Cinderella-type of story, however there was no happily ever after in Anora. If this movie had come out a decade or two ago, it’s entirely possible that Ani would have ended up as a rags-to-riches story on a beach with her billionaire husband. However, the times we live in today are not as optimistic as times of the past, and Baker gives us a powerful, heavy ending that leaves the audience asking, “Now what?” The ending was reminiscent of the final shot of The Graduate, but it was a much more intense scene. Baker brilliantly ended the film by giving us an emotional meat grinder and then cutting to black with no score. Just a silent role of the credits. I was in a crowded theater, and no one said a word as they exited. The ending hung heavily in the air like a balloon made of lead. It was raw and palpable and took us 180 degrees from the hedonistic frivolity with which the movie started.

What started out as a movie showing life as a big party ended with a devastating hangover. It was a cruel twist that left us feeling pessimistic about Ani and her future, and no words at that time would have appropriately described anyone’s feelings. That’s how powerful the ending of Anora was.

I would be shocked if Anora won Best Picture, but I’m glad I saw it. I’m glad filmmakers are creating modern fairy tales and turning the fairy tale trope on its ear. They make for powerful stories that stay with us long after we’ve left the theater, forcing us to examine the world we occupy. The fact that I have this feeling after seeing Anora was completely unexpected and totally satisfying.

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