Anora, starring Mikey Madison, stood tall at the 97th Oscars Ceremony, earning five Academy Awards. Thanks to the powerful storytelling and Madison’s performance, the film impressed many critics and moviegoers alike. The film is about an erotic dancer (Madison) who marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Anora, directed by Sean Baker, cost $6 million to make and has profanities and takes on behaviors that are not appropriate for children. Considering the film’s take on explicit subjects, many were surprised by the film’s impressive showing.
Anora Wins Five Oscars Awards
The movie won five of its six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Actress for Madison. It was quite a road to the Oscars for this movie. Anora is a comedy-drama that premiered at last year’s 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. Baker also wrote, produced, and edited the film. He has built a reputation of telling idiosyncratic stories about characters living on the margins in films like Tangerine and The Florida Project.
All of this unfolded after one of the worst natural disasters in Los Angeles history. The Oscars reflected this with tributes to the firefighters whose efforts to save communities ravaged by the fire. The Academy also highlighted the many movies shot in the city, from The Long Goodbye to Licorice Pizza. In accepting his final award of the night, Baker said, “I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a truly independent film. This film was made on the blood, sweat, and tears of incredible indie artists, and long live independent film!”
The film was not a box office smash, grossing just over $40 million at the time of writing, but it made a massive jump after its big night at the Oscars. For Madison, the Oscars went much better than she expected. Madison said this at the awards.
“It’s, for lack of a better word, just incredibly surreal. I never thought anything like this would happen in my life. I love making movies, and I’ve dreamed of being an actress that would be able to be in a film like Anora my entire career as an actress. It’s a huge honor-one that I think will soak in later down the line, hopefully. I really did not expect it at all. I really don’t know what will happen in the future. I just want to keep making movies and continue to work with people who inspire me and play interesting characters, tell stories that are compelling. That’s just what I hope to do.”
Emilia Perez, starring Zoe Saldana, and a film that has faced some controversy, led the way with 13 Oscar nominations. Saldana won the best supporting actress award. There was also a sad but touching tribute by Morgan Freeman, honoring the late Gene Hackman, who was recently found dead in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home along with his wife and dog Feb. 26.
The Film Impressed Critics
Anora was two hours and 19 minutes long, earning an impressive 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics highlighted Madison’s nuanced performance and her navigating of Ani’s relationship with Vanya. The relationship showcased the movie’s take on class disparity and the transactional nature of Ani and Vanya’s relationship. Human relationships are one of the movie’s central themes, and Madison does a good job of hiding Ani’s deep desire for human connection and affection.
In Anora, Madison played Ani, a stripper who works in New York and lives in Brighton Beach. During a shift, her boss sends her to meet Vanya (Eydelshteyn), a young wealthy Russian who is in the United States to study but spends a lot of time partying. Ani understands Russian because her grandmother spoke it to her, so she can understand most of what Vanya says. Vanya begins paying Ani for sexual relations and then to be his girlfriend. When the relationship escalates, Vanya takes Ani to Las Vegas with his friends and decides to marry her. From then on, the rest of the story shifts between the two characters.
The actress faced some backlash from industry professionals after revealing for not using an intimacy coordinator on set for the movie. In speaking with Pamela Anderson on Variety’s Actors on Actors, Madison said, “For our film, we didn’t,” when asked if there was an intimacy coordinator on set. “It was a choice that I made that the filmmakers offered to me if I wanted to bring on an intimacy coordinator or not.”
With Anora, Baker used impressive tonal shifts and utilized Madison’s dynamic performance. While the movie impressed critics, it met its share of controversy, especially with some accusations against Baker. Adrien Brody took home the top acting honors, winning for his performance as an architect struggling to complete his finest work in The Brutalist. Along with Madison, the cast of Anora includes Yura Borisov, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Darya Ekamasova, and Aleksei Serebryakov.
Conclusion
Anora made a remarkable impact at the Oscars, honored for its compelling storytelling and Madison’s nuanced performance. Directed by Baker, the film captivated moviegoers with its complex themes of class disparities and human connection. Its bold narratives resonated with critics, even though it did face its fair share of controversy. While the ending of the movie may be bleak to the eyes of some, the film is still compelling enough to make it worth watching. The themes resonate with moviegoers and critics as they take on important societal issues.
