False Love and Fake Marriage Take Center Stage in Anora
Anora is a film about a sex worker in Brooklyn who meets and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. After his family finds out, they try to annul the marriage. If that premise sounds interesting to you, the movie, with six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, is much better. It is more extreme in some respects – this film contains quite a lot of nudity and has a lot of profanity. If these bother you, I recommend skipping this film.
Mikey Madison gives what may be the best performance of her career in this film as the title character Anora "Ani" Mikheeva. Her co-lead, Mark Eydelshteyn, who plays her love interest, Vanya, is equally as good, and the pair had phenomenal chemistry. Madison is nominated for Best Actress and Eydelshteyn is nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
These two characters are not likeable in any way. Vanya is a rich kid with no parental supervision, so he is entitled and does whatever he wants. Anora is just a mean person to every person around her, except for those whom she is getting something out of. The film doesn’t offer any reason for her self-serving behavior, but it’s not that big of an issue. I was genuinely shocked that despite both characters being horrible people, the film is enjoyable.
Surprisingly, the henchmen sent to guard the two, are the best side characters in the film, and I often found myself rooting for them more than I did for the main characters. The main characters and their friends are all in their early 20s, and the writing realistically depicts people in this age group. They speak just like my friends and I do, and Vanya is written to act just like how a 21-year-old rich kid with no supervision would behave. It is hard to get characters that young to feel real and not like a stereotype, but this film did a great job.
The soundtrack for this film is mostly modern rap songs, which aren’t my favorites. Nevertheless, the song choices make sense as most of the film takes place in a strip club, at parties thrown by Vanya, and in a montage. The sound design is also top notch, matching well with the scenes, and nothing feels out of place.
Set in Brooklyn, the film was beautifully shot in New York City. Some scenes of the city were framed and shot in a picturesque way, making Brooklyn look like it was a different city at certain points in the film. The film is edited well and keeps the pacing just right. At 2 hours and 18 minutes, it feels neither rushed nor dragged out.
Given the nature and theme of the film, I think it was most surprising that there is very little violence and gore. There is some fighting, which results in a character getting a broken nose, but other than that, there is next to none.
Ultimately, Anora is a film about what can best be described as false love and fake marriage. The film is also up for Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year. I believe that it is worthy of every award nomination, even if it wins nothing. With its brilliant acting, script, directing, and editing, I can see why this film is at the top of a lot of predictions for winning Best Picture. It is not my personal pick for the award, but if it wins, I would not be upset. I give this film a 7 out of 10.