Sean Baker’s Anora quickly became an Oscars frontrunner after winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Best Picture and Best Actress buzz erupted for Baker and Mikey Madison, who portrayed the titular character. But is the film deserving of its
success and praise?
The film follows Ani (Anora), a sex worker from Brooklyn, finding a chance at love with Vanya, the son of a well-known Russian billionaire and oligarch. After a brief, lustful transactional relationship, Vanya proposes and the two get married. Ani thinks her wildest dreams have come true until Vanya’s family demands they annul the marriage. What follows is a series of playful shenanigans, heartbreaking realizations, and the rise and fall of our main character.
While this story is well-written and worth seeing, the overwhelming attention it has received from critics and audiences alike may be misplaced. The first third of the film is electric. The energy was there, and the party and club aesthetics made for an immersive, atmospheric visual. The theatrical experience was one of the best of the year, at least for the first hour or so.
The movie’s fun visuals become increasingly dimmer as Ani’s newfound wealth and marriage become threatened. Madison delivers a breakout performance, allowing the audience to sympathize with Ani. Even in her more temperamental moments, the audience can find the humor and frustration in her situation, a testament to Sean Baker’s complex writing as well. This movie feels very raw in the moments where Anora is the focus. Unfortunately, the movie gets distracted by one of its side characters to the degree that the plot feels too sidetracked from its original premise.
While Madison is already being penciled in for Best Actress predictions, some of the supporting actors make an arguably stronger case for an Oscar. Mark Eydelshteyn as the childish, naïve party animal that is Vanya delivers an emotional and well-rounded performance to complement Madison’s. If Anora should receive only one acting nomination, it should go to him. Although, in moments where Vanya is off-screen, Yura Borisov’s subtle performance as Igor, an employee of Vanya’s family provides some much-needed compassion in the film’s darker moments.
Apart from the incredible acting, the technical aspects of the film range in quality. Baker continues to shine in his editing abilities, especially in the party sequences of the first act. However, while Baker’s script is perfectly satisfactory, the comedic aspects of this romance dramedy were not the most well-written. While much of the humor is already divisive, the jokes are too long-winded and lose their edge after the first three repetitions. Baker has never shied away from controversial topics and humor in his films, but an audience can only sit through a “comedic” scene for so long before wanting to return to dramatic form, especially with a 139-minute runtime.
Anora lacks the charm of Baker’s other projects, such as Tangerine or Red Rocket. It does not feel as grounded or sincere, which makes its box office and critical success all the more disheartening. The upside is that Baker will likely have opportunities to make more, better movies, which will hopefully serve as a return to form. Some directors thrive off of small budgets, and while Anora was not some obscure failure, its bigger budget might have come at the expense of some earnestness.
Anora did not deserve the Palme d’Or, and it certainly does not deserve Best Picture. Will it win? Possibly, as it has not been the best year for movies. While you should still see Anora, just know there are better Baker movies to watch.
Rating: 3/5.