Immediately after Anora swept the board at the Oscars, I sat down with my two best male gay friends to watch it on Prime. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of Oscar-winning movies, but my company (my team, especially) played a significant role in the editing of this movie. So naturally, I had to brag to my friends about all the great work we were doing 😂.
So we sat down to watch the movie, without knowing anything about it (although my team worked on it, I wasn’t directly involved), and had no idea about the movie’s content.
And immediately, we were all shifting uncomfortably. From the opening scene itself, it was obvious that this was a sexually explicit movie. All of us fidgeted in our seats, but we are all too cool for it to matter, so we cracked a few uncomfortable jokes and waited for things to settle down and the plot to get going.
And waited, and waited, and waited. There was tons of confusion. So many sex scenes, stripping scenes, but nothing seemed to be happening. And then a bizarre love (lust?) story starts. Again, a bit of confusion. Was this a Russian mobster movie? Who were all these goons wandering around in extremely luxe houses?
Almost midway into the movie, and nothing remotely Oscar-worthy. Then the jabs started from my friends. Is this what we spend our time doing in the office? Watch semi-soft porn movies? And how could they get a job at my workplace? And so on, and on.
Thankfully, the second half of the movie is better.
By now, you must be wondering what the movie is about, huh? Well, read on for the review.
About Anora
In short: Anora, a young woman from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.
What I think about Anora
This is not a relatable movie for me. When I think of a Best Picture Oscar winner, I think of sweeping sagas with a broader appeal – something like Gandhi, Titanic, or Forrest Gump. What I did not expect was a highly sexually charged Romeo-Juliet type movie about the fickleness of teen love.
That said, once I got over the surprise, I kind of enjoyed the movie. Technically, the movie is ace – amazing cinematography, locations, and acting (Mikey Madison as Anora is mesmerizing). The rest of the cast is pretty great too! However, it’s not a movie I would rewatch or even remember down the line. I hesitate to recommend it, even – it’s one of those polarizing movies.
The story also stutters a bit – the beginning is all vivid emotion, foul language, nudity, and sex. The second half is a frantic, comic chase where Anora tries to hunt down her husband. Throughout all this frantic action, we get a deep dive character study of Anora.
The ending is what got me! Made the whole movie worth watching. The final scenes, where we see Anora break down with disappointment with all her hopes dashed, and then the bittersweet connection between her and one of the Russian goons, made all the ups and downs of the movie worth it.
You know what, as I reflect more on the movie writing this blog, I think I might watch a few scenes again. Not the entire movie, but a few clips here and there.
Overall, a nice movie – not what I’d call Oscar worthy, but still enjoyable, if you can get past all the prostitution, sex, and drug use.
