Anora (2024)
November 13, 2024 4:22 PM - Subscribe
Anora, a young exotic dancer and sex worker, meets and accepts the marriage proposal of the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news hits the tabloids, Anora's fairytale is threatened as enforcers are dispatched to take control of the situation before his parents arrive in New York to undo what's been done.
I saw this at an open caption screening, but it seemed like at least half of the captions were actually subtitles because the characters were speaking Russian so just a heads up because I don't see it mentioned elsewhere.
posted by channaher at 7:28 PM on November 13, 2024
posted by channaher at 7:28 PM on November 13, 2024
You are correct, there's a bunch of non-English in the film with subtitles, both Russian and Armenian.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:39 AM on November 14, 2024
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:39 AM on November 14, 2024
I love when a movie can genre-bend between really sad drama, fun cinderella-story romance, and dark comedy. Mikey Madison is excellent but the kid who played Vanya was hysterical - just this wiry, fidgety, bouncy little thing encompassing all of the body language of a hyper little child, which he pretty much was.
Also did anyone else notice what seemed to be a direct homage to Pretty Woman, when they were negotiating and settled on her price for the week ("I would have done it for X dollars" "I would have paid you Y")?
posted by windbox at 8:13 AM on November 14, 2024 [2 favorites]
Also did anyone else notice what seemed to be a direct homage to Pretty Woman, when they were negotiating and settled on her price for the week ("I would have done it for X dollars" "I would have paid you Y")?
posted by windbox at 8:13 AM on November 14, 2024 [2 favorites]
I watch everything with subtitles so I didn’t even notice!
posted by jeoc at 8:10 AM on November 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by jeoc at 8:10 AM on November 16, 2024 [1 favorite]
Thought this was fantastic, the ending was note-perfect, the performances were glorious. The living room scene with the three fixers and Ani was an excellent mix of sheer dread and very funny.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 8:59 AM on November 19, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 8:59 AM on November 19, 2024 [4 favorites]
I really liked this one as well. I thought it was deftly done all around, I really really appreciated that while she's in danger and trouble, it never got to the point where you were actively afraid for her physical safety. The real danger was her to own emotional stability. She thought her and Ivan were in this together, maybe not in love, but own each other's side. I appreciated that it showed her slowly beginning to understand that and being disappointed.
posted by Carillon at 11:31 PM on November 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by Carillon at 11:31 PM on November 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
Mikey Madison is everything and I love her here.
Mark Eydelshteyn's Ivan is such an idiotic sweetheart.
I felt this way the way I've felt about most of Sean Baker's movies (I haven't finished all of them). He has a good idea but he can't sustain it (like, this did not need to be 2.5 hours long). He also has a weird "white straight male savoir" thing happening in his movies that kind of puts me off.
I didn't hate it but I was less impressed than I was led to believe I was going to be. However, I agree with everyone that Madison is a standout. I kept watching for her.
posted by edencosmic at 4:33 PM on January 18 [2 favorites]
Mark Eydelshteyn's Ivan is such an idiotic sweetheart.
I felt this way the way I've felt about most of Sean Baker's movies (I haven't finished all of them). He has a good idea but he can't sustain it (like, this did not need to be 2.5 hours long). He also has a weird "white straight male savoir" thing happening in his movies that kind of puts me off.
I didn't hate it but I was less impressed than I was led to believe I was going to be. However, I agree with everyone that Madison is a standout. I kept watching for her.
posted by edencosmic at 4:33 PM on January 18 [2 favorites]
Was waiting for the one fixer from head trauma and glad that never happened.
Thought this movie was exceptional and the end broke the tension so brilliantly without fixing anything at all. Also thought it was hilarious.
posted by sibboleth at 10:11 AM on January 20 [1 favorite]
Thought this movie was exceptional and the end broke the tension so brilliantly without fixing anything at all. Also thought it was hilarious.
posted by sibboleth at 10:11 AM on January 20 [1 favorite]
I don't quite buy it as an Oscar Best Picture film, but I enjoyed it. The very end scene kept me guessing where it was going to end up and I appreciated that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:55 AM on February 12 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:55 AM on February 12 [2 favorites]
Pretty good. The chaos scenes did not get too cute/stagey which seemed like a real danger.
The length of it worked for me somehow, to really feel Anora's stubbornness, and for the little connection with Igor to feel earned in some way without feeling too much like a romcom, to give it some solidity.
posted by fleacircus at 7:29 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]
The length of it worked for me somehow, to really feel Anora's stubbornness, and for the little connection with Igor to feel earned in some way without feeling too much like a romcom, to give it some solidity.
posted by fleacircus at 7:29 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]
Yesterday I was thinking about this movie more, and it's odd/interesting how little of the rest of Anora's life gets pulled in. It's not really like a character study of a miserable day. There's no sick mother or ex-bf pulling her in different directions. She's a creature of almost pure hustle.
posted by fleacircus at 6:24 PM on February 16 [2 favorites]
posted by fleacircus at 6:24 PM on February 16 [2 favorites]
I thought it was OK, but only OK.
The biggest demerit for me was the long first act of the movie, really everything up to the marriage. Nothing entertaining, new or interesting in the story of presentation. It picked up after that, and I especially liked the stretch while they were hunting for Vanya.
posted by mark k at 7:51 AM on February 27 [2 favorites]
The biggest demerit for me was the long first act of the movie, really everything up to the marriage. Nothing entertaining, new or interesting in the story of presentation. It picked up after that, and I especially liked the stretch while they were hunting for Vanya.
posted by mark k at 7:51 AM on February 27 [2 favorites]
Psyched this won so many awards.
posted by signal at 1:42 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]
posted by signal at 1:42 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]
The film is good, but in my opinion, Mikey Madison's performance is a bit weak, while the Russian actor Mark Eydelshteyn (via) is really charming. Honestly, though, I feel bad for Demi Moore—she really deserved to finally win an Oscar, especially since The Substance is such a strong film.
posted by vitospit at 2:15 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]
posted by vitospit at 2:15 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]
The biggest demerit for me was the long first act of the movie, really everything up to the marriage. Nothing entertaining, new or interesting in the story of presentation. It picked up after that, and I especially liked the stretch while they were hunting for Vanya.
This was my biggest thought as I finished the film last night. It was too long and just a bit too repetitive. How many times do we need to see Annie and Vanya having sex? Even as it seemed the story used Annie's growing enjoyment of the sex with Vanya as a sign of her shifting from this is a job to this is someone I enjoy being around, it again, felt a bit repetitive. Through those scenes, it also kind of falsely lured us into thinking of Vanya as someone who cared about Annie's experience and feelings, taking her advice on how to make the sex better...only for him to just flip 180 to being a spoiled brat kid who didn't care for her at all other than that he "had fun."
The film really didn't take off until the second act. That was really where it rose a bit higher in entertainment and quality. The way it was shot, at times hand held in a documentary style, felt like a throwback to the 70s. I did like the use of long shots and incorporating all the characters in the frame, that made it feel more immersive in a way than the wobbly camera meant to make us feel like we're walking along with the characters. The sets/scenes all felt very grounded and you had a great sense of how much driving/walking/visiting they did looking for Vanya.
I did like Mikey Madison's performance. For the most part, I felt everyone brought a good performance, though, except for her enemy at the strip club - she felt like someone acting like someone being angry and nasty.
I'm not sure if I liked the ending, ending, if only because how much sex seemed to represent Annie's character. It's a profession, her identity when we first meet her, its the vehicle the story uses to communicate her change of relationship with Vanya, the means by which others try to insult her and demean her (calling her a prostitute/escort), and then it seems like it's the default manner in which she shifts to thanking Igor at the end. I remember thinking in their last night in the house how it would be weird and almost exploitative if Annie and Igor had sex on the couch. But then it turned to just 12 hrs later or so. She stops doing so when he tries to kiss her, granted, indicating the sex wasn't intended to be something intimate - but well, it felt lazy.
I haven't seen most of the best picture nominees so I can't say where Anora ranks for me among them.
posted by Atreides at 6:59 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
This was my biggest thought as I finished the film last night. It was too long and just a bit too repetitive. How many times do we need to see Annie and Vanya having sex? Even as it seemed the story used Annie's growing enjoyment of the sex with Vanya as a sign of her shifting from this is a job to this is someone I enjoy being around, it again, felt a bit repetitive. Through those scenes, it also kind of falsely lured us into thinking of Vanya as someone who cared about Annie's experience and feelings, taking her advice on how to make the sex better...only for him to just flip 180 to being a spoiled brat kid who didn't care for her at all other than that he "had fun."
The film really didn't take off until the second act. That was really where it rose a bit higher in entertainment and quality. The way it was shot, at times hand held in a documentary style, felt like a throwback to the 70s. I did like the use of long shots and incorporating all the characters in the frame, that made it feel more immersive in a way than the wobbly camera meant to make us feel like we're walking along with the characters. The sets/scenes all felt very grounded and you had a great sense of how much driving/walking/visiting they did looking for Vanya.
I did like Mikey Madison's performance. For the most part, I felt everyone brought a good performance, though, except for her enemy at the strip club - she felt like someone acting like someone being angry and nasty.
I'm not sure if I liked the ending, ending, if only because how much sex seemed to represent Annie's character. It's a profession, her identity when we first meet her, its the vehicle the story uses to communicate her change of relationship with Vanya, the means by which others try to insult her and demean her (calling her a prostitute/escort), and then it seems like it's the default manner in which she shifts to thanking Igor at the end. I remember thinking in their last night in the house how it would be weird and almost exploitative if Annie and Igor had sex on the couch. But then it turned to just 12 hrs later or so. She stops doing so when he tries to kiss her, granted, indicating the sex wasn't intended to be something intimate - but well, it felt lazy.
I haven't seen most of the best picture nominees so I can't say where Anora ranks for me among them.
posted by Atreides at 6:59 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure if I liked the ending, ending, if only because how much sex seemed to represent Annie's character. It's a profession, her identity when we first meet her, its the vehicle the story uses to communicate her change of relationship with Vanya, the means by which others try to insult her and demean her (calling her a prostitute/escort), and then it seems like it's the default manner in which she shifts to thanking Igor at the end. I remember thinking in their last night in the house how it would be weird and almost exploitative if Annie and Igor had sex on the couch. But then it turned to just 12 hrs later or so. She stops doing so when he tries to kiss her, granted, indicating the sex wasn't intended to be something intimate - but well, it felt lazy.
Counterargument - I didn't think this was "lazy", I thought it was a poignant example that this was her default and that's partly how she ended up in this situation in the first place. The world is not kind to sex workers, and that is a skill set that isn't all that transferable. But for whatever reason this is the only skill set she has, and so she is forlornly trying to fall back on it even when it's probably not a good idea and that's probably part of why she breaks down at the end, because it's the same skill set that got her into this situation and it's not helping and man, the world sucks because of that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:06 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
Counterargument - I didn't think this was "lazy", I thought it was a poignant example that this was her default and that's partly how she ended up in this situation in the first place. The world is not kind to sex workers, and that is a skill set that isn't all that transferable. But for whatever reason this is the only skill set she has, and so she is forlornly trying to fall back on it even when it's probably not a good idea and that's probably part of why she breaks down at the end, because it's the same skill set that got her into this situation and it's not helping and man, the world sucks because of that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:06 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
She stops doing so when he tries to kiss her, granted, indicating the sex wasn't intended to be something intimate - but well, it felt lazy
I read it as: she really does want to kiss him, but she is extremely spiky in normal times, and at that moment she's been through an ordeal. It's sort of like earlier when she accuses Igor of being gay for not trying to rape her. That's her weird way of getting at, "Don't you like me?" from the most like self-protecting, self-respecting angle.
Then later when he does try to force a kiss in the car, it is a breach. I was like UHOH. The film plays a little dangerously with "no no no no no no no yes". (Here the length works again because like there's ten thousand no's and it signals we are at the extreme.) I'm glad it didn't end in like a music swelling makeout but rather Anora letting herself be weak and messed up for a second. Maybe she ghosts Igor after that; that'd be fine.
I do understand some of the criticisms that amount to it being too much about Igor being perfect. Romances are like that tho, and Anora is a bit of a romance, and not the most politically bold one either, except maybe for the still-bold idea that sex workers are human.
I like the movie a little more each time I think about it I guess. Though, romances between damaged/stressed people is one of my favorite elements in film. My idea of high romance is when Amy Seimetz and Shane Carruth hide in the bathtub in Upstream Color.
posted by fleacircus at 3:31 AM on March 21 [1 favorite]
I read it as: she really does want to kiss him, but she is extremely spiky in normal times, and at that moment she's been through an ordeal. It's sort of like earlier when she accuses Igor of being gay for not trying to rape her. That's her weird way of getting at, "Don't you like me?" from the most like self-protecting, self-respecting angle.
Then later when he does try to force a kiss in the car, it is a breach. I was like UHOH. The film plays a little dangerously with "no no no no no no no yes". (Here the length works again because like there's ten thousand no's and it signals we are at the extreme.) I'm glad it didn't end in like a music swelling makeout but rather Anora letting herself be weak and messed up for a second. Maybe she ghosts Igor after that; that'd be fine.
I do understand some of the criticisms that amount to it being too much about Igor being perfect. Romances are like that tho, and Anora is a bit of a romance, and not the most politically bold one either, except maybe for the still-bold idea that sex workers are human.
I like the movie a little more each time I think about it I guess. Though, romances between damaged/stressed people is one of my favorite elements in film. My idea of high romance is when Amy Seimetz and Shane Carruth hide in the bathtub in Upstream Color.
posted by fleacircus at 3:31 AM on March 21 [1 favorite]
Counterargument - I didn't think this was "lazy", I thought it was a poignant example that this was her default and that's partly how she ended up in this situation in the first place. The world is not kind to sex workers, and that is a skill set that isn't all that transferable. But for whatever reason this is the only skill set she has, and so she is forlornly trying to fall back on it even when it's probably not a good idea and that's probably part of why she breaks down at the end, because it's the same skill set that got her into this situation and it's not helping and man, the world sucks because of that.
I can appreciate this interpretation, though the more I think about the movie, the less I'm enraptured by Annie's character. I'm trying to think back to Pretty Woman if Vivian is treated any differently, either.
posted by Atreides at 6:15 PM on March 22
I can appreciate this interpretation, though the more I think about the movie, the less I'm enraptured by Annie's character. I'm trying to think back to Pretty Woman if Vivian is treated any differently, either.
posted by Atreides at 6:15 PM on March 22
I really enjoyed this movie. Most "comedy" is not funny to me, but I must be closer to the target audience for this because I laughed way more than anyone else in the theatre.
I especially howled at the way Ani's physical strength surprises the goons. Like, they clearly have no idea what a pole dancer does. The fight scenes are hilarious (deliberately so, I'm sure).
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:02 AM on March 27 [2 favorites]
I especially howled at the way Ani's physical strength surprises the goons. Like, they clearly have no idea what a pole dancer does. The fight scenes are hilarious (deliberately so, I'm sure).
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:02 AM on March 27 [2 favorites]
The fight scene may have been the best part of the film, tbh.
posted by Atreides at 6:51 AM on March 27 [1 favorite]
posted by Atreides at 6:51 AM on March 27 [1 favorite]
Oof, this is going to be a doozy.
Finally got around to watching this, and as with Nosferatu, damn I don't know what y'all are smoking but I wish I had some because this movie was hyped way, way above its somewhat meager merits. In my opinion, of course.
Back in the Oscars thread, I wrote that I hadn't seen Anora but that the trailer made it look like a movie by a straight guy obsessed with erotic dancers and how much fun their life is. I was sternly assured that it was not! And, after watching it... yeah, I feel confident in saying that this movie was made by a straight dude obsessed with sex workers who wanted to film a pretty young woman nude in sexual situations.
To break it down:
It starts with a close-up of an anonymous woman's ass. How is this not immediately screaming "male gaze" to everyone? I mean, I know it's only the first shot of the movie, but it's also the first shot of the movie.
Moving on, we slow pan across several other mostly naked women lap dancing for their anonymous schmuck customers. Then we get to Ani and the camera pans up to focus not on her body, but her head, and we get the title film/her name (her "real" name, incidentally, not the dancer name she uses). Ah ha, we say! We're looking at her face, not her naked body, and we know her name, this can't be some tawdry exploitation flick. This movie is going to treat this young woman like a real human being, not a nude body to be drooled over.
The rest of the introduction up until the inciting incident of meeting Ivan is taken up showing Ani at work. And it is an impressively authentic strip club vibe. We see her walking the floor, approaching customers, giving dances, vaping -- generally doing the hustle required of women in this industry. She's gotta flirt, she gets rejected, she's gotta try to up-sell and convince her marks to withdraw more money from the ATM. And it's just what it is: a job like any other. Of course, we also see her mostly naked body a lot during this sequence, as she dances for various extras and one-line day players (How many random dudes did Mikey Madison have to dance for and grind against in filming all the club footage? How many hours did she spend doing take after take, as one extra is swapped in for another? It'd be interesting to know).
Another part of the job experience is, of course, her relationship to her co-workers: signaling to another bored dancer that they should go outside to smoke; inane chatter about finger tattoos and gross customers, bitching about the gross DJ who won't play their music, some static with a workplace rival, and going at it with her gruff, somewhat slimy, but ultimately (as we’ll later see) decent boss, who struck me in his few minutes as a Danny Devito in Taxi type. Sort of an asshole, definitely not paying you what you deserve, but wishes you well in the end.
What we don't see much or really any of is the really bad shit that dancers have to deal with: outside of Ivan at the end, we don't see any disruptive patrons, guys trying to get rough or grabby, straight up fist fights between drunks, etc. Despite all the drug use later in the movie, we don't see anyone who seems like an addict, we don't see any sexual harassment from the boss or other male staff. Not that it has to portray the life as a grim and miserable hell, but the story never really touches the really dark side of erotic dancing/sex work.
And what's Ani's take on all this? Well, she certainly exudes that artificial cheerfulness dancers have to put on when working the floor. Is there deeper trauma? Who knows! When we see her face when she dances, she mostly looks either sort of bored or sort of having fun. Is it before she meets Ivan that we see her go home? I don't remember if that's before or after, but it doesn't matter because, what do we learn about her? Almost nothing! She appears to live in a fairly simple but satisfactory working class house/neighborhood. Oh, there are books in her room, are those her books? Is she working through college? Is she a writer? Who knows! She lives with her... sister? What's their relationship? Who knows! They bicker about milk for 10 seconds.
Anyway, she meets Ivan, and immediately the movie becomes more interesting because the actor is phenomenal. He's funny and goofy and obviously a spoiled man-child but he has such a happy energy that you want to watch him. She dances for him, even giving him a special treat by taking off her panties to grind her genitals directly on his groin. He asks if she works outside of the club, and she gives him her number. Why, does she like him? Is she just going for the money? Who knows! I mean, I think the latter, because that's how she makes money, but whatever, doesn't really matter for now. In any case, we’re not given any real indication of how she feels from her reaction.
So, she goes to his (parents') house, she is shocked by the wealth, they have sex, she makes him cum fast and giggles about it, and he pays her. We get another long shot of her face as she debates how to ask him about his money. Is she scheming? Does she like him? Who knows! They continue having sex a bunch and partying at his house, and we see more of Mikey Madison mostly or totally nude, having sex, dancing for Ivan, cuddling with Ivan while he plays video games, and giggling when he ejaculates. Granted, these aren't particular lurid scenes -- it's not porn -- but still, we're seeing a naked pretty young woman having sex. Or one could say a woman working, doing sex work. But still: naked woman being used for pleasure.
Ivan asks Ani to be his exclusive girlfriend for a week, they negotiate pay, and she agrees. She has another gruff but ultimately good-natured argument with her boss about whether she can take a week off -- I guess her mentioning health care and 401k etc. was supposed to be a nod to the struggles of the working class or a demonstration of how tough and gritty she is? She spends a week with Ivan: more fucking, partying, doing drugs, cuddling, etc. But at some point, we see that something in Ani is changing: in an earlier encounter, she encouraged him on to a second round of intercourse since there was time left on the clock; now she starts teaching him how to last longer so their sex can be more enjoyable. Does she have feelings for him? Does she just want to have more fun with it if she has to do it anyway? Who knows! Apparently, she now wants to have sex with him, so she's got to have something different going on.
And we come to the marriage proposal. IIRC, she sort of initiates the conversation. Does she want to marry him? Is it for the money? Does she actually love him? Who knows! When she agrees, does she believe that he loves her? Does she care? Does she want to have a life with him, kids, grow old together? Does she imagine a life of non-stop partying, drugs, and sex, with no consequences and no other meaning? Does she plan to divorce him and take him for half his money? Who knows! What does her sister think about this? Who knows! We're given no real indication about what she actually thinks or feels about anything, because all we have seen is her partying with this dude who is clearly a spoiled man-child with absolutely no concept of responsibility. We do see that everyone at the club (except Diamond) will miss her, including the one supervisor who we've only seen yelling at Ani, but now they are on the verge of tears that she's going. I guess they were just a big happy family (except for Diamond), even that grumpy old boss.
And then Ani actually says "Cinderella" a few times, just in case anyone in the audience hasn't figured out that the movie is doing a spin on the Cinderella fairy tale. Thanks for that clarification.
Now we move on to the second half of the movie, where instead of seeing Ani naked a lot, we see her screaming and getting treated like shit a lot. Suddenly there's all sorts of goofy sitcom bits involving the two Armenians and Igor. He's is so much trouble he has to leave in the middle of the baptism! Ha! Look at how upset the mom is! Ha!
Let's talk about the fight scene. Yes, it was funny -- very clearly intended to be so. And there was some thrill to be had in watching two big guys get knocked around by a tiny woman. Good for her! But ... turn the sound off, and that scene is a lot more disturbing. No matter how much damage she is inflicting on them, we are also watching two men try to manhandle a woman. Garnik walks in to find Ani bent over on her knees, in her panties, Igor's crotch against her ass, as he ties her arms behind her. And this scene is played for laughs. Is that normally an image that we'd find funny? Sure, it's the context that makes it funny, because we know that really he wasn't trying to hurt her or assault her, the timing was just awkward, ha ha. But is that a great narrative to promote: yes, that man is tying up a naked struggling woman, but there's actually a really funny story behind it so don't worry? I mean, I get the vicarious enjoyment in watching Ani kick that dude in the face, but it also seems ... problematic at the least to stage a scene like this as a joke.
Back to the story: Ani is insistently defiant, before and after the fight, that she is Ivan's wife, that their marriage is real, etc. She even says that they are in love, although notably it takes a while before she says it. What do we make of her anger: is she sincere in her love for Ivan? Does she see her dreams of luxury about to be snatched away from her? Who knows! But at this point, I have to ask myself: how could she possibly be sincere in loving this guy, or in thinking that he loves her? She's supposed to be at least a somewhat savvy operator, from what we've seen in the beginning. All we've seen of their relationship is fucking and drugs. Surely she has to be able to tell that this guy is a dumb kid, has no idea what he's doing, is not sincere in his emotions because he's incapable of something as deep as "love." So if she doesn't actually love him, then by this point she's clearly just trying to hold on to the luxurious lifestyle and get paid. And if she does actually love him (whatever we mean by "love"), then she must be way more naive than presented initially, and also perhaps kind of dumb and greedy to be seduced by his money in the first place. Maybe I'm being too harsh about these young people barely out of their childhoods and not remembering what it was like to have those Big Emotions? Or maybe not and her character's story is just not written well.
Ani and The Goons go off to look for Ivan, and we get lots more comedy bits with the Goofy Armenians and their Wacky Misadventures. Don't get me wrong; I laughed at a lot of these bits. But, why are they in this movie? Why do we learn more about the lives of these two Armenian assholes than we know about Ani? And why for God's sake do we start getting all these overly-mannered Wes Anderson-style shots where everyone is symmetrically arranged in front of some large structure, mixed in with jittery hand-held shots as the cameraman runs around? Bah, having a consistent visual language is for cowards!
Anyways, a bunch of shit happens, not really worth going over in detail, fast-forward to they find Ivan, and the parents arrive. Uh-oh, Mom is ball-buster, and Dad is a meek dork in a sweater! What a fun twist! They treat Ani like shit, and it is genuinely sad to see her get insulted, and it kinda sucks that she really has no power against these Russian Oligarchs. Ivan is officially outed as a cowardly douchebag, and it's nice that Ani gets some measure of dignity back by calling him out in front of his parents. But... is she upset because she really loved him and thought he loved her? Because she thought she was hustling him but she got hustled? Because he’s a punk and didn’t defend her like she expected him to, because she thought he really wanted her? Would she have stayed with him if his parents disowned him and he were poor? Who knows! Because all these people think of her as nothing more than a sex worker, and they don't even have the decency to call her a "sex worker" but instead use denigrating terms, and maybe that’s all she thinks she is too? I... guess? And that sucks, they are all shitty jerks to her -- except briefly for Sweater Dad who gets a real kick when Ani gives it back to Ball-Buster Mom, ho ho ho! I bet he wishes he still had the balls to tell his wife off, ha! Aren't Ball-Buster Women the worst?
Finally, we get to the end of the movie, and so let’s talk about Igor. Igor, the good guy, not like those other guys. He doesn't think of her as just a toy to play with, like Ivan did, or as a dirty prostitute, the way the parents did. He's certainly not like the anonymous schmuck clients she dances for. He's just a working stiff, too; he takes care of his grandmother! He thinks she deserves some respect. He sees her as a person: he says he likes her real name, Anora -- see that proves he's a good guy! Even though he grabbed her, and tied her up, and had her in all sorts of physically compromising positions; even though we’ve seen that he’s obviously capable of violence and has no problem intimidating people when he smashes up the candy shop (which ultimately just screws over the poor old guy who runs it); he didn't really mean any of that, it was just him trying to do his job while still being a Good Guy. He talks to her. He gives her thecrystal slipper diamond ring -- could he be the real Prince Charming? And when she starts fucking him as her misguided way to thank him, because all she knows is using her body, and he tries to kiss her (I think the only time we see Ivan and Ani kiss is at the wedding?), finally her sadness comes out and she cries in her arms. See, he really saw her, not like those other guys. And she cries over... Her broken heart? Her foolishness at believing in a Cinderella story? Her failure to secure a future that would let her leave sex work behind? Her humiliation? Her underlying trauma? Who knows! We end the movie knowing almost exactly as much little about Ani as we did when the movie started. But we know a lot about Ivan, a good bit about Igor, hell, even some insight into the lives of Toros and Garnik.
I am really baffled that anyone sees this movie as empowering for women or sex workers. Sean Baker has stressed how interested he is in telling the real stories of real people and their real lives, and how fascinated he is by the details, like dancers taking their lunch in Tupperware or porn stars doing their laundry. So where in this story of a dancer whose life we know almost nothing about who is swept up for a month of luxurious partying by the son of a Russian oligarch do we get a real story about a real person living their real life? Where in this do we see the struggles of sex workers in a world that treats them poorly? Does this movie even pass the Bechdel test? (Hint: no.)
So, yeah. I was not impressed. And it absolutely isn’t the fault of the actors. Sean Baker wrote a fantasy about a thinly characterized erotic dancer. I think about these quotes from a recent article:
“Baker is fascinated by the work part of sex work: The struggles. The problem-solving. The Tupperware. He wants to tell stories about people who work for a living, and knows that many viewers who might be bored by a movie about factory workers will be captivated by stories of sex workers. They provide a natural fixation for the movies, a medium that often overlaps with voyeurism.
But Baker’s films show that movies about the business of sex don’t have to be lurid or gawking. They can also be open-hearted, eye-opening, and true. The writer-director has no interest in either tawdry shocks or Pretty Woman fantasies.”
Yeah, the film isn’t lurid, but the movie is obviously a variation on a Pretty Woman fantasy, even if he “subverts” it (which is being generous) by the end. I really wanted to like this movie as a step forward in portraying sex workers, or as saying something about class and labor, or as empowering women’s sexuality, or something, but I do not see that anywhere but in the hype around the movie.
posted by Saxon Kane at 7:31 PM on April 17 [1 favorite]
Finally got around to watching this, and as with Nosferatu, damn I don't know what y'all are smoking but I wish I had some because this movie was hyped way, way above its somewhat meager merits. In my opinion, of course.
Back in the Oscars thread, I wrote that I hadn't seen Anora but that the trailer made it look like a movie by a straight guy obsessed with erotic dancers and how much fun their life is. I was sternly assured that it was not! And, after watching it... yeah, I feel confident in saying that this movie was made by a straight dude obsessed with sex workers who wanted to film a pretty young woman nude in sexual situations.
To break it down:
It starts with a close-up of an anonymous woman's ass. How is this not immediately screaming "male gaze" to everyone? I mean, I know it's only the first shot of the movie, but it's also the first shot of the movie.
Moving on, we slow pan across several other mostly naked women lap dancing for their anonymous schmuck customers. Then we get to Ani and the camera pans up to focus not on her body, but her head, and we get the title film/her name (her "real" name, incidentally, not the dancer name she uses). Ah ha, we say! We're looking at her face, not her naked body, and we know her name, this can't be some tawdry exploitation flick. This movie is going to treat this young woman like a real human being, not a nude body to be drooled over.
The rest of the introduction up until the inciting incident of meeting Ivan is taken up showing Ani at work. And it is an impressively authentic strip club vibe. We see her walking the floor, approaching customers, giving dances, vaping -- generally doing the hustle required of women in this industry. She's gotta flirt, she gets rejected, she's gotta try to up-sell and convince her marks to withdraw more money from the ATM. And it's just what it is: a job like any other. Of course, we also see her mostly naked body a lot during this sequence, as she dances for various extras and one-line day players (How many random dudes did Mikey Madison have to dance for and grind against in filming all the club footage? How many hours did she spend doing take after take, as one extra is swapped in for another? It'd be interesting to know).
Another part of the job experience is, of course, her relationship to her co-workers: signaling to another bored dancer that they should go outside to smoke; inane chatter about finger tattoos and gross customers, bitching about the gross DJ who won't play their music, some static with a workplace rival, and going at it with her gruff, somewhat slimy, but ultimately (as we’ll later see) decent boss, who struck me in his few minutes as a Danny Devito in Taxi type. Sort of an asshole, definitely not paying you what you deserve, but wishes you well in the end.
What we don't see much or really any of is the really bad shit that dancers have to deal with: outside of Ivan at the end, we don't see any disruptive patrons, guys trying to get rough or grabby, straight up fist fights between drunks, etc. Despite all the drug use later in the movie, we don't see anyone who seems like an addict, we don't see any sexual harassment from the boss or other male staff. Not that it has to portray the life as a grim and miserable hell, but the story never really touches the really dark side of erotic dancing/sex work.
And what's Ani's take on all this? Well, she certainly exudes that artificial cheerfulness dancers have to put on when working the floor. Is there deeper trauma? Who knows! When we see her face when she dances, she mostly looks either sort of bored or sort of having fun. Is it before she meets Ivan that we see her go home? I don't remember if that's before or after, but it doesn't matter because, what do we learn about her? Almost nothing! She appears to live in a fairly simple but satisfactory working class house/neighborhood. Oh, there are books in her room, are those her books? Is she working through college? Is she a writer? Who knows! She lives with her... sister? What's their relationship? Who knows! They bicker about milk for 10 seconds.
Anyway, she meets Ivan, and immediately the movie becomes more interesting because the actor is phenomenal. He's funny and goofy and obviously a spoiled man-child but he has such a happy energy that you want to watch him. She dances for him, even giving him a special treat by taking off her panties to grind her genitals directly on his groin. He asks if she works outside of the club, and she gives him her number. Why, does she like him? Is she just going for the money? Who knows! I mean, I think the latter, because that's how she makes money, but whatever, doesn't really matter for now. In any case, we’re not given any real indication of how she feels from her reaction.
So, she goes to his (parents') house, she is shocked by the wealth, they have sex, she makes him cum fast and giggles about it, and he pays her. We get another long shot of her face as she debates how to ask him about his money. Is she scheming? Does she like him? Who knows! They continue having sex a bunch and partying at his house, and we see more of Mikey Madison mostly or totally nude, having sex, dancing for Ivan, cuddling with Ivan while he plays video games, and giggling when he ejaculates. Granted, these aren't particular lurid scenes -- it's not porn -- but still, we're seeing a naked pretty young woman having sex. Or one could say a woman working, doing sex work. But still: naked woman being used for pleasure.
Ivan asks Ani to be his exclusive girlfriend for a week, they negotiate pay, and she agrees. She has another gruff but ultimately good-natured argument with her boss about whether she can take a week off -- I guess her mentioning health care and 401k etc. was supposed to be a nod to the struggles of the working class or a demonstration of how tough and gritty she is? She spends a week with Ivan: more fucking, partying, doing drugs, cuddling, etc. But at some point, we see that something in Ani is changing: in an earlier encounter, she encouraged him on to a second round of intercourse since there was time left on the clock; now she starts teaching him how to last longer so their sex can be more enjoyable. Does she have feelings for him? Does she just want to have more fun with it if she has to do it anyway? Who knows! Apparently, she now wants to have sex with him, so she's got to have something different going on.
And we come to the marriage proposal. IIRC, she sort of initiates the conversation. Does she want to marry him? Is it for the money? Does she actually love him? Who knows! When she agrees, does she believe that he loves her? Does she care? Does she want to have a life with him, kids, grow old together? Does she imagine a life of non-stop partying, drugs, and sex, with no consequences and no other meaning? Does she plan to divorce him and take him for half his money? Who knows! What does her sister think about this? Who knows! We're given no real indication about what she actually thinks or feels about anything, because all we have seen is her partying with this dude who is clearly a spoiled man-child with absolutely no concept of responsibility. We do see that everyone at the club (except Diamond) will miss her, including the one supervisor who we've only seen yelling at Ani, but now they are on the verge of tears that she's going. I guess they were just a big happy family (except for Diamond), even that grumpy old boss.
And then Ani actually says "Cinderella" a few times, just in case anyone in the audience hasn't figured out that the movie is doing a spin on the Cinderella fairy tale. Thanks for that clarification.
Now we move on to the second half of the movie, where instead of seeing Ani naked a lot, we see her screaming and getting treated like shit a lot. Suddenly there's all sorts of goofy sitcom bits involving the two Armenians and Igor. He's is so much trouble he has to leave in the middle of the baptism! Ha! Look at how upset the mom is! Ha!
Let's talk about the fight scene. Yes, it was funny -- very clearly intended to be so. And there was some thrill to be had in watching two big guys get knocked around by a tiny woman. Good for her! But ... turn the sound off, and that scene is a lot more disturbing. No matter how much damage she is inflicting on them, we are also watching two men try to manhandle a woman. Garnik walks in to find Ani bent over on her knees, in her panties, Igor's crotch against her ass, as he ties her arms behind her. And this scene is played for laughs. Is that normally an image that we'd find funny? Sure, it's the context that makes it funny, because we know that really he wasn't trying to hurt her or assault her, the timing was just awkward, ha ha. But is that a great narrative to promote: yes, that man is tying up a naked struggling woman, but there's actually a really funny story behind it so don't worry? I mean, I get the vicarious enjoyment in watching Ani kick that dude in the face, but it also seems ... problematic at the least to stage a scene like this as a joke.
Back to the story: Ani is insistently defiant, before and after the fight, that she is Ivan's wife, that their marriage is real, etc. She even says that they are in love, although notably it takes a while before she says it. What do we make of her anger: is she sincere in her love for Ivan? Does she see her dreams of luxury about to be snatched away from her? Who knows! But at this point, I have to ask myself: how could she possibly be sincere in loving this guy, or in thinking that he loves her? She's supposed to be at least a somewhat savvy operator, from what we've seen in the beginning. All we've seen of their relationship is fucking and drugs. Surely she has to be able to tell that this guy is a dumb kid, has no idea what he's doing, is not sincere in his emotions because he's incapable of something as deep as "love." So if she doesn't actually love him, then by this point she's clearly just trying to hold on to the luxurious lifestyle and get paid. And if she does actually love him (whatever we mean by "love"), then she must be way more naive than presented initially, and also perhaps kind of dumb and greedy to be seduced by his money in the first place. Maybe I'm being too harsh about these young people barely out of their childhoods and not remembering what it was like to have those Big Emotions? Or maybe not and her character's story is just not written well.
Ani and The Goons go off to look for Ivan, and we get lots more comedy bits with the Goofy Armenians and their Wacky Misadventures. Don't get me wrong; I laughed at a lot of these bits. But, why are they in this movie? Why do we learn more about the lives of these two Armenian assholes than we know about Ani? And why for God's sake do we start getting all these overly-mannered Wes Anderson-style shots where everyone is symmetrically arranged in front of some large structure, mixed in with jittery hand-held shots as the cameraman runs around? Bah, having a consistent visual language is for cowards!
Anyways, a bunch of shit happens, not really worth going over in detail, fast-forward to they find Ivan, and the parents arrive. Uh-oh, Mom is ball-buster, and Dad is a meek dork in a sweater! What a fun twist! They treat Ani like shit, and it is genuinely sad to see her get insulted, and it kinda sucks that she really has no power against these Russian Oligarchs. Ivan is officially outed as a cowardly douchebag, and it's nice that Ani gets some measure of dignity back by calling him out in front of his parents. But... is she upset because she really loved him and thought he loved her? Because she thought she was hustling him but she got hustled? Because he’s a punk and didn’t defend her like she expected him to, because she thought he really wanted her? Would she have stayed with him if his parents disowned him and he were poor? Who knows! Because all these people think of her as nothing more than a sex worker, and they don't even have the decency to call her a "sex worker" but instead use denigrating terms, and maybe that’s all she thinks she is too? I... guess? And that sucks, they are all shitty jerks to her -- except briefly for Sweater Dad who gets a real kick when Ani gives it back to Ball-Buster Mom, ho ho ho! I bet he wishes he still had the balls to tell his wife off, ha! Aren't Ball-Buster Women the worst?
Finally, we get to the end of the movie, and so let’s talk about Igor. Igor, the good guy, not like those other guys. He doesn't think of her as just a toy to play with, like Ivan did, or as a dirty prostitute, the way the parents did. He's certainly not like the anonymous schmuck clients she dances for. He's just a working stiff, too; he takes care of his grandmother! He thinks she deserves some respect. He sees her as a person: he says he likes her real name, Anora -- see that proves he's a good guy! Even though he grabbed her, and tied her up, and had her in all sorts of physically compromising positions; even though we’ve seen that he’s obviously capable of violence and has no problem intimidating people when he smashes up the candy shop (which ultimately just screws over the poor old guy who runs it); he didn't really mean any of that, it was just him trying to do his job while still being a Good Guy. He talks to her. He gives her the
I am really baffled that anyone sees this movie as empowering for women or sex workers. Sean Baker has stressed how interested he is in telling the real stories of real people and their real lives, and how fascinated he is by the details, like dancers taking their lunch in Tupperware or porn stars doing their laundry. So where in this story of a dancer whose life we know almost nothing about who is swept up for a month of luxurious partying by the son of a Russian oligarch do we get a real story about a real person living their real life? Where in this do we see the struggles of sex workers in a world that treats them poorly? Does this movie even pass the Bechdel test? (Hint: no.)
So, yeah. I was not impressed. And it absolutely isn’t the fault of the actors. Sean Baker wrote a fantasy about a thinly characterized erotic dancer. I think about these quotes from a recent article:
“Baker is fascinated by the work part of sex work: The struggles. The problem-solving. The Tupperware. He wants to tell stories about people who work for a living, and knows that many viewers who might be bored by a movie about factory workers will be captivated by stories of sex workers. They provide a natural fixation for the movies, a medium that often overlaps with voyeurism.
But Baker’s films show that movies about the business of sex don’t have to be lurid or gawking. They can also be open-hearted, eye-opening, and true. The writer-director has no interest in either tawdry shocks or Pretty Woman fantasies.”
Yeah, the film isn’t lurid, but the movie is obviously a variation on a Pretty Woman fantasy, even if he “subverts” it (which is being generous) by the end. I really wanted to like this movie as a step forward in portraying sex workers, or as saying something about class and labor, or as empowering women’s sexuality, or something, but I do not see that anywhere but in the hype around the movie.
posted by Saxon Kane at 7:31 PM on April 17 [1 favorite]
Baker definitely pushed the empowerment/respect for sex workers aspect by the production talking about how Madison went and studied with dancers to learn her role, and how they had a special screening for the dancers who helped in the film. But I agree, Baker could not shake the male gaze in any respect through the first two thirds of the film. Though it is notable, that when other characters began to address her in insulting terms "prostitute" and so on, that is when her clothes stay on. That is also, incidentally, when she tries to cling to her new identity as "wife" to Ivan. Then when she is stripped of it, we get the scene in the car with igor.
posted by Atreides at 7:52 AM on April 18
posted by Atreides at 7:52 AM on April 18
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:27 PM on November 13, 2024 [1 favorite]