This article contains spoiler content.
Anora was a highly anticipated film for me, especially after its Palme d’Or win at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and the glowing reviews that followed. Throughout the entire film, I found myself waiting for the moment that would help me understand what many others seemed to see in it, but unfortunately, that moment never came.
Don’t get me wrong: Anora is beautifully shot, the acting is incredible and, besides some noticeable pacing issues, mildly entertaining. The film’s two central characters, Ani/Anora (Mikey Madison) and Vanya (Mark Eidelstein) really saved the subpar script in their performances. Having seen interviews of Madison detailing the intense preparation and research she undertook for the role, it’s clear that she deserves full credit for bringing nuance to Ani, who might otherwise have been completely one-dimensional.
It’s no exaggeration to say the acting far outshines the script and, while writer and director Sean Baker deserves credit for opting for the bleak yet realistic ending, the narrative didn’t resonate nearly as much as it could have.
My patience for male-written films that use the pretence of sexual liberation to explore ‘adult themes’ is wearing thin. Despite the praise Baker has received for destigmatising sex work, Anora ultimately felt more like voyeurism than any meaningful storytelling.
The opening scene which consisted of a montage of naked women twerking and touching themselves set the tone for the rest of the film. These artistically filmed pornographic shots and erotic dance sequences aren’t inherently progressive statements. This superficial storytelling approach felt more like male-centric observations rather than interesting interrogations, which made the narrative feel shallow.
Ani exists primarily as a character to be observed rather than understood, and, while there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it meant that this film had a very fleeting impact on me. Beyond a brief nod to her complicated family life, the audience learns very little about her outside of the sexualising male gaze.
Her personality felt limited to being Vanya’s wife or merely a feisty woman; this could have been a clever commentary on how Ani constructs a persona as a survival strategy, but I don’t think spending two hours on this without meaningful exploration was interesting or necessary.
To make matters worse, in a predictable plot point I was praying to be wrong about, Ani’s emotional breakthrough (moving from Ani to Anora) unfolds and is facilitated through the eyes of yet another man, Igor (Yura Borisov). Igor is portrayed as being a whole lot poorer and nicer than Vanya, but the trope of ‘male saviourism’ feels predictable and uninspired.
The film centres around the transactional nature of relationships. Vanya pays Ani $15,000 to be his girlfriend for the week, marries her to piss off his parents, and insultingly abandons her to reconcile with them. This plot progression was heavily predictable and foreshadowed through Vanya’s treatment of others such as hotel staff, cleaners and anyone else he pays. However, it was still no less heart-breaking to witness Ani’s naïve belief that this was her chance for a better life.
There are some funny moments in the film, especially the farcical search for the missing Vanya and the incompetence of the men tasked with finding him. However, much of the comedy felt like it came at Ani’s expense. In a particularly prolonged and distressing moment where Ani screams “rape” as she attempts to fight off a group of men, the loud cackles from exclusively male audience members were disturbing and this kind of grotesque punchline left me feeling uncomfortable.
Controversially, Anora felt like a missed opportunity given the talent of the cast and creative team. The film never pushes past surface level in its observations of Ani’s life, leaving a story that had the potential to be impactful instead feeling hollow. Its voyeuristic approach undercuts the entirety of the film, and its themes are disappointing and predictable. This ultimately left me very confused by the overwhelming hype it has received.
2/5
