Anora

With its dazzling lead performance, raw writing, and spellbinding direction, Anora is a fantastic piece of filmmaking that stands not only as my favourite movie of the year but amongst my favourite movies of the decade. This film excellently combines comedy with tragedy. I always gravitate towards stories that have an air of levity to them, but what I love even more than that are stories that beautifully blend comedy with tragedy and allow both to coexist together with neither feeling out of place or unnecessary. There were many scenes that had me in stitches and struggling to breathe! Yet as the film continues and gets to the latter stages, there is so much tragedy we watch unfold, especially in the breathtaking final scene. 

I’m familiar with Mikey Madison largely because of her penchant for playing somewhat psychotic characters in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and Scream. However, Anora is an unexpected yet phenomenal turn from her. Her role as Ani allows her to bring so much to every scene both comedically and dramatically. This is one of those starmaker performances from an actress where you can just see her getting tons of roles and awards attention. 

However, her performance is complimented by an excellent supporting ensemble who bring so much to their roles. No one actor feels left out or underutilized and they all get moments to shine, even the lesser characters. Yura Borisov as Igor has been getting a lot of love and appreciation for this film and it is absolutely deserved. He isn’t as inherently scene-stealing as practically every other performance in the film with his more muted performance, but that weirdly makes him stand out more. He’s playing the film on a completely different level than everyone else, and his relationship that we see develop with Ani is fascinating. Mark Eydelshteyn delights as Ani’s new husband Ivan, whose presence (and absence) drives the story to places that are sometimes absurd, sometimes anguished, and always captivating. His chemistry with Mikey Madison is fascinating and results in deeply compelling character moments that really showcase their dynamic relationship and the differing perspectives of their marriage over the course of the runtime. Their relationship morphs and reveals new layers to it as the film progresses, which is wonderfully engaging. Karren Karagulian as Toros is also very fun as an inherently unlikeable character that has some solid moments of comedy. Vache Tovmasyan as Garnick is pure comedic relief and is hilarious in every scene he’s in. 

Sean Baker as a creative is most lauded for his pen, with Anora being his best script to date. There’s so much to unpack in every scene: the comedic sequences are so jam-packed with jokes that I know I missed several simply by laughing too hard, while the dramatic beats are so textured and real they’re often difficult to swallow. There is a sequence in the middle of the film with Ani, Vanya, Igor and Garnick that had me and my entire audience in stitches. It is one of the funniest sequences I have seen in a film in a very long time. The dramatic moments are a lot to take in, though don’t truly rear their head until the last third of the film. The final scene in particular was a dramatic scene that I initially wasn’t a fan of. I understood Sean Baker’s intention more as it progressed, and the longer I linger on it, the more I absolutely love it. The ending truly brings the entire piece together, capping this fairy tale off with a brutal jolt back to reality. 

One element that has always been outstanding in Sean Baker’s previous work is the cinematography. The cinematography here isn’t especially unique in terms of angles or camera movements, but the way in which scenes are framed allow for some truly immaculate imagery that will stay with me for a long time. There is one shot towards the end that is so simplistic in its conception but is perhaps the most beautiful one I’ve seen in any film of this year.

Anora is a damn near masterwork of a film from Sean Baker. It has established him as one of my favourite filmmakers working currently. I cannot wait for more and more people to be spellbound by its innate charm. Though it may tease a good time, it delivers perhaps the most powerful story of the year… while still being a damn good time!

8.5/10