Anora. Paul Goldfinger still image from the movie. Click once for a closer look.
Anora parties with her Russian “husband.” Photo by Neon with Blogfinger making it better. Click to enlarge. Watch for Blogfinger photos.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net. 3/4/25
As predicted, I really liked Anora, “Best Picture” at the Oscars, and I didn’t have to go to a theater. I found it on Prime streaming for rental at a reduced rate. (really?) for $5.95. I will see it again to be able to cope with fast changing scenes, hot dialogue, plot lines, music and visual excellence.
It was a joyous film filled with color, comedy, action, wonderful characters and a vivacious and beautiful leading lady who got “best actress” at the Oscars, and a leading young man who got to prance around, have noisy and happy sex with her–over and over again, and a director who let it all hang out as he created one memorable scene after another. Mikey Madison is the very young leading lady who plays a stripper and a “sex worker”. It is not pornographic, and you can’t actually say the she is having intercourse in many of her “work” scenes, or so Eileen told me, but that perception changes when she hooks up with Vanya, the young Russian man she falls hard for.
The (“Best”) screenplay was fast moving, with critics calling it a “wild ride,” and Mikey Madison (Anora) rising to the challenge. She is a remarkable actress. The entire cast was terrific, and some of the actors are actually Russian.
Even the locations changed in a hurry, but all were revealed as special and unique places in their way, and the story and characters just bounced around from place to place including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Coney Island, Los Vegas, and a tour of New York strip and sex clubs.
There were several cultures represented, especially that of “sex workers” including Anora (actress Mikey Madison) who is delightfully alive as a young vivacious, woman who is seductive, sexy, beautiful, and happy about most things that she experiences and she makes do with the rest. This (“Best”) director Sean Baker had other films in the past where he creates the worlds where “sex workers” live, so he is an expert about those topics.
We get to meet a variety of cultures besides Anora’s; especially the community of wealthy Russians and the young people that our “hero” Vanya hangs out with. Vanya is the son of an extremely wealthy Russian oligarch. He spends his time with a young crowd who live on laughs, booze, drugs, parties, sex and money. Some are American and others are Russian, and I always am interested in other cultures especially the Russians in Brooklyn.
Vanya lives in a sumptuous New York apartment owned by his Dad, where he invites his friends so that they can party, go clubbing together,, snort coke and joke around non-stop.
Anora, the leading young lady, meets oligarch junior, and he hires her to give him exclusive attention as his girlfriend for a week; but they fall in love, at least they think so, and then they fly to Vegas to get married; the plot thickens when Vanya’s parents arrive in a private jet to deal with the situation.
Despite Anora’s sex worker persona, she is revealed to be smart, cunning, and energetic as she deals with her disloyal “husband” Vanya and the Russian goons who show up to annul the marriage and to force her back to wherever she came from.
The Russian scenes were especially hilarious. At times Anora reveals her vulnerability and her underlying character which is considerable and admirable. She has to cope with worrisome situations as when her “husband” runs out on her because he can’t cope, and she is left with desperation and a capacity for survival.
She has to survive in an atmosphere of sex-for-pay clubs and pressure to do drugs and deal with a variety of low-life men and some women. She is very young, early 20’s,” but she has tremendous energy and capacity to cope and change directions as needed. Some critics likened her character to Cinderella and her crazed script to follow as “a wild ride.”
As for the “Best Picture” award, many critics disagreed, finding Anora to be lightweight and not as good as others such as the Brutalist and Conclave. I have seen neither so far. But who’s to say what the best picture is; I guess all the contenders are best pictures. Anora, at least, could easily be “best “–it depends who’s judging: people like me who love the movies or academicians who need to produce brilliant essays for their cinema classes.
The music wasn’t what I usually like, but many scenes are in fast party tempo, so certain club music prevails, and I don’t mind it because it helps elevate the moods of changing scenes. It turns out that over 50 songs were used in this film, but here is one called “Greatest Day” by Robin Schulz (re-work)—I like it.
Can you jitterbug to this? The Bee Gees’ didn’t make the list.