*WARNER – SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN “ANORA” YET*
The main poster for the Palme d’Or-winning “Anora” calls Sean Baker’s latest film “a love story.” And, of course, that’s precisely what was delivered. As the titular character, a dazzling Mikey Madison, gets whisked away into a love story, dreams are made of. Here’s Ivan (a hysterical Mark Eydelshteyn), who will do absolutely anything to spend time with Ani. No price is too high to see her smile. Such a fairy tale scenario should be held tightly.
However, as is the case with many of Baker’s films, there is often a rotten core at the center of his vibrant, bubblegum-style visuals. It’s no different with “Anora,” and it could even be argued that the thematic center of this film is his most upsetting. On top of that, “Anora” is the most recent film to fit into an exciting trend of thrillers that’s been building up steam as of late. From 2019’s “Uncut Gems” to 2021’s underseen “Full Time,” cinema has seen a steady rise in films focused on the stresses of everyday life. The thriller is a genre that, historically, has focused on placing its characters in situations where the audience would feel as if they’d snap under pressure. It’s a surefire way to build suspense through manufactured anxiety. But what happens when a film mines tension through realistic dilemmas faced by people on a daily basis?
Regarding the films Baker makes, the characters in question are often part of marginalized and underrepresented communities. So the question then becomes whether or not audiences, and Oscar voters in particular, will be able to overcome the moral indictment pointed towards societies and the upper-class views and treatment of sex workers. Will they even be able to get past the inherent silliness and raunchiness that pours out of the film?
From very early on in “Anora,” it feels like it was destined to be an instant crowd-pleaser. It’s certainly one of the funniest films of the year. And as Ani, Madison turns in a performance that is purely undeniable. She brings such a defined Brooklyn energy to the role that some could argue it borders on a comical stereotype of a New Yorker (They’d be wrong in reducing it to such a dismissive view). But Baker, for all the freedom he allows his performers in his films, isn’t a filmmaker who simply shoots or directs without purpose. There’s a reason for Ani’s entire personality, whether she has her guard up or not. As an exotic dancer, she has no doubt had to endure more than her fair share of messy drunks, problematic misogynists, and your all-around garden-variety schmucks in the club where she works. She’s likely developed some pretty tough skin over the years. And her brash delivery and extensively vulgar vocabulary back that up. Any customers, strangers, or even fellow dancers who give her a hard time will likely receive an earful of creative insults hurled their way. And through this type of behavior, Madison’s performance will hopefully begin to win over audience members. It’s not merely crass for the sake of humor. It’s a defense mechanism, one of many we come to see in this multifaceted character. Once she begins to develop a deeper relationship and business partnership with Ivan, new layers of Ani are revealed to great effect.
Ani clearly loves to have fun. And Madison’s performance shows she is absolutely relishing the opportunity. Much of Neon’s marketing has focused on this. There is an exuberance in the trailers, the posters, and even the font used throughout the promotional materials. Remember: much of this film is framed as a fairy tale. And Ani makes sure to soak up every second of that sparkling glory! Partying around New York clubs and Vegas penthouses, her joy radiates off the screen in a way that will hopefully be undeniable to Oscar voters. It’s a performance that has the two opposing elements the Academy usually loves to recognize working in conjunction with one another: unbridled passion and excitement and a deeply tragic core that reveals truths about the world beyond cinema. While individuals are usually nominated for capturing one or the other, there’s the exciting case where a performance has both! Nominations like Saoirse Ronan for “Lady Bird” or Margot Robbie for “I, Tonya” come to mind, as well as wins like Emma Stone for “Poor Things,” Olivia Colman for “The Favourite” or Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Julia Roberts was nominated for “Pretty Woman,” and the through line from that film to this is as clear cut as the Equator!
The point is that the Academy isn’t necessarily averse to awarding films that reach into territories a bit wilder than what many write off as “typical Oscar fare.” Madison takes a role that could become rather one-note or condescending and turns it into something both respectful and magical. It’s a performance that’s easy to fall head over heels for. The audience so badly wants to see her win at every possible turn. In a society that’s too easily commodified as it is, seeing Ani take complete advantage of it for the betterment of her life is an absolute joy and an important reminder of what the film is building towards.
By this point in the film, audiences likely have fallen in love with Ani. And for the next hour, Baker proceeds to open the floodgates. In what amounts to a chaotic mixture of the “all-in-one-night” energy of “After Hours,” the beloved screwball vibe of “Some Like It Hot,” and full-on slapstick shenanigans in the vein of all the classics, Anora indulges itself and its audience at every turn. But Baker is building up to something potentially frightening. If one looks beyond all the genre flairs he’s pulling from, the realization will begin to dawn on where this road will lead Ani.
Where the first three quarters of “Anora” build up Ani as a woman who takes no flack and can more than handle herself, its final section deals a devastating hand. Through the rollicking fun of “Anora,” Baker has crafted his own take on class commentary. It’s here that all the comedy is stripped away. The excess of riches and strikingly bright visuals are reduced to cold, isolating images and events. The final act of “Anora” is meant to elicit a deep anger at the top 1%. It’s a reminder that the house always wins, not out of talent or even luck, but out of brute force. In the eyes of Ivan’s family, and perhaps even Ivan himself, Ani means nothing. But to the audience, she and the entirety of the sex workers that she represents mean everything.
And so, as the credits roll on “Anora,” what began as an all-out riot of a film leaves its viewer unsure of how to feel. Are all the good times now tainted by the tragic final moments of the film? That’s up to the viewer to decide, but for the purpose of examining the Oscar prospects of “Anora,” one should look to films of a similar ilk. And the first film that comes to mind is Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness.” Only two years ago, the Academy nominated it for three major awards (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay), and the Cannes jury gave it the Palme d’Or. Not only was Östlund’s film also a treatise on class commentary in its own distinct way, but that film is unbelievably crass and shockingly vulgar, and its politics are anything but subtle. By the time its runtime wraps up, the deep belly laughs it provided audiences were stripped away, leaving us with much darker sentiments and thoughts.
While there is always hope for improvement, in recent years, the Academy has shown its ability to shake off prudish claims when the individual strengths of a film elevate the material overall. In the case of “Anora,” Baker captures all this excess with a pointed vision in mind. One of the biggest strengths of Anora is its ability to warp its own imagery, comedy, and brilliant performances into something damning about America as a whole. “Anora” isn’t just empty comedy full of profanity and sex for the sake of vulgarity and lack of substance. What began as an escape for audiences turns into Baker holding up a mirror to his audience. Hopefully, a film like this and others of its ilk can prompt people to have conversations about the under-seen stories of individuals around us and how shining a light on these stories will hopefully bring about a change to the rigid structures that harm more than help.
What nominations do you think “Anora” will receive at the Academy Awards? Do you think it’s the current Best Picture frontrunner? When will you be seeing it in theaters? Please let us know in the comments below or on Next Best Picture’s X account and be sure to check out Next Best Picture’s latest Oscar predictions here.
You can follow Alex and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars & Film on X at @alexpaps1
