Anora (2024)

IMDb plot summary: A young stripper from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Directed by Sean Baker. Starring Mikey Madison, Paul Weissman, and Yura Borisov.

Anora is the name of the film's title character, although she goes by Ani. She's a club dancer who hits it off with a rich Russian playboy, and as they get closer and closer, it looks like she's going to get a Cinderella-style happy ending until suddenly everything goes sideways. I was a big fan of The Florida Project by the same director, and when Anora started getting all the awards love, I was looking forward to seeing it. I have to say it didn't hit quite the same way for me. I find our lead character likable and relatable, especially as she's put in horrible circumstances and continuously fights back. But there's an odd tonal shift here that I couldn't place until I saw that it was being credited in some circles as a "screwball comedy," and while I don't think it's particularly funny, there is a zany "I can't believe this is happening" vibe to the second half of the film, and it makes for an odd journey. The final scenes come back to working for me a little bit more, but it doesn't all cohere as smoothly as I hoped a Best Picture winner might. This one might need to sit with me for awhile and then get a revisit, to see if it gels better with me.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Anora > Killing Season

Anora < Elf

Anora > 7 Plus Seven

Anora < Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Anora > The Minus Man

Anora < Trick 'r Treat

Anora < A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Anora > A Star Is Born (1937)

Anora > Prometheus

Anora > The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Anora > Trouble in Paradise

Anora > Moby Dick (1930)

Final spot: #1350 out of 4020, or 66%.