Anora (2024)

We expected Anora to be a challenging film; it is about a sex worker and many scenes are extremely explicit. The language is also fruity. Some of the audience didn’t stay the course for this much acclaimed film.

Our discussion group appreciated many aspects of Sean Baker’s multi-Oscar winning movie.  The use of natural settings and locations rather than studios led to a heightened realism. A real strip club is used and Ani (Oscar winner Mikey Madison) improvises as she walks through talking to clients. The scene in Las Vegas when Ani and Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) celebrate their impulsive marriage has onlookers who don’t appear to be actors.

We talked about how the film connected with Pretty Woman (1990). We felt there was a huge difference. In Pretty Woman, the prostitute is ‘saved’ by her former client and she ‘saves him back’.

This isn’t the case in Anora, where Anora’s client and husband Ivan, is a spoilt man-child with loads of money but no sense, obsessed with video games. His parents’ employees always bail him out of trouble. A great performance from ‘the Russian Timothee Chalamet’.

It was felt that the characters don’t change throughout this “extraordinary story” and Ani seems the sanest one. We all loved henchman Igor’s role (Yura Borisov) and the moments of wisdom and care that he showed.  His comment that Ani should consider herself lucky not being part of the Zakharov family, despite his being employed by them, was significant. The audience notices these moments of compassion and empathy, which is why the final intense scene with Ani and Igor in the car can shock and surprise.

We had an interesting talk about the Russian oligarchs depicted and whether the theme of excess wealth and corruption would be true for any wealthy group. It was suggested that the end of the Soviet Union meant that some people got rich very quickly.  

Generally, we felt that this was “an amazing story wrapped in very good direction” and that the Oscars were well deserved. It was considered on the same level as Bicycle Thieves, which was praise indeed. Mikey Madison’s Oscar winning performance was magnetic, fierce and ultimately vulnerable.

A special thank you to Arts University Bournemouth who gave us their students’ final year animations to show. The audience was spellbound and the heart-tugging Cats Don’t Swim was a particular favourite.

 Anne