Anora Review: A Fantastical Lie
“Love doesn’t look like this. It’s supposed to feel better than this, isn’t it?” — Anora
One of the few shots of the film is Mikey Madison as Ani, the sex worker, performing for her client. Immediately, something about this film was different.
Usually, I was enthusiastic about analyzing a movie with its visual details and how it’s written but my god…any time Mikey Madison appears, especially in the first hour, my brain stopped working for a moment before I could be myself again.
Mikey Madison is just that attractive and I can’t believe I never noticed her before this. She does also give a performance of a lifetime and I do believe she deserves to win or at least be a frontrunner in the year’s awards race.
Flaw
Anyway, the main thing that drags this film down is its tone. The film tries to be a tragedy with an emotional heartbreaking story but mixing in with some comedy in it.
I wished the film had focused more on the dull and depressing life of Ani. We only get glimpses of her life outside the club, being lonely, empty, and sad. It establishes enough and impacts adequately but I just think they could have done more.
Same with the supporting characters’ side. It’s nice to see these goons messing up and causing a comedic scene like they were from Dumb and Dumber but for this film, I think they would have been more memorable if there was some level of depth to them besides being henchmen. The guy who left his family in the middle of a big religious moment to get on the mission was a nice setup and it could have fared better if they brought in his wife to play a part. Everyone besides Igor didn’t have much depth for me to look at them in another way.
That is the only issue with this film. Everything else was simply amazing.
Anora
Anora or Ani as she was referred to, works as a sex worker in a club. In hindsight, the film does a lot in its first 30 minutes or so to show her work environment and how she pleases her clients and makes fun of them when they mess up. It changed when one client named Ivan came over.
Ivan doesn’t have a lot of confidence in his English and despite Ani knowing some Russian, she too isn’t confident about her Russian. From there, both of them had this connection regarding their confidence and because of this, we see how they excel by being together. Ivan calls her up and they do it a few times but during this period, they also get to know more about each other.
Ani was finding companionship and a friend. Something she didn’t have despite interacting with so many people every day. Due to this, she was more prone to fall for someone at any moment. Ivan could have only been one of the first few whom Ani had interacted and chatted with. There was even a moment where they were done in 15 minutes and Ivan started playing games with Ani being bored and she suggested going again which Ivan was happy to do. She clearly wanted it.
At first, it feels like Ani was doing it all for the money even if there were subtle clues of her falling for him due to her weak and isolated heart. When she is invited to this party, she gets so excited but when Ivan asks her to be his girlfriend, she wants him to pay her. Ani is happy to be with him and later on, they go around partying and have fun all day. It feels like a dream and a contrast to Ani’s own depressing life she had been experiencing. This was like a dream come true and she didn’t want to break it. Ivan proposing to her and her asking for a 3-carat ring was what made me realize what Ani actually wanted. All those prices and demands she makes for money weren’t things that satisfy her. Those prices were a form of validation. A number to show how much he loves her, but she knows it all can’t be real, yet she still lies to herself.
There was no way this playboy would fall for her, nor would they last long but Ani didn’t have anyone. Even if it were someone stupid and pathetic like Ivan, she would still fall for him to fulfill her empty heart. In reality, she knows that Ivan is just in it for sex, but she keeps lying to herself. Even when the red flags were there and he never did anything besides playing around and sex, she still kept up with him because she needed that companionship. Even when the truth was spilled out to her, she still couldn’t believe it because she had fallen too deep into her own lie.
Ani would act tough and fun all the time, but she is actually this introverted, quiet girl who yearns for a meaningful connection. We can clearly see this in those quieter moments where she seemed to be more content than in the louder moments. She does a job that is the opposite of her character and finally has to face a situation that is beyond her.
When those goons came to capture her, she screamed and fought them off but in reality, she was just scared. She was scared that her lie would be broken, and Ivan was what he truly was from the start. As the latter part of the film progresses, her lie is slowly torn apart. She was mad at the one guy who cared for her because she was lying to herself that Ivan was the only one who cared. She was irritated when they had to stop by the gas station because, for her whole life, she had been this way; empty, alone, and sad.
When Ivan was finally found, he did the worst possible thing in front of Ani’s eyes, but she still cared for him. Even when his parents came, she still tried her best to get them to like her and even fought for Ivan. She genuinely loved him, but he didn’t.
In the end, Ivan would choose to go with his parents and get a divorce. Ani screams at him and calls him pathetic but in those moments her tough demeanor is broken. She was hurt. I might even add that the louder or angrier she is, it is just a way to hide how sad and scared she really is. It’s a tragedy to witness how someone had to constantly lie to herself just to satisfy the emptiness she has in her heart.
Ivan
Ivan is just a terrible person. He is this rich spoiled brat who does whatever he wants. We have no context of what he was doing in America, but it was clear he only wanted an escort for sex and party all day. Anytime when there is something big or important to discuss he would just avoid it and run back to some party or video game.
When he proposes to Ani, we don’t know how much consideration he took to come to it. It was probably just another dumb thing he wanted because it’s fun.
When he gets in trouble the first thing, he does isn’t to run away to get a new life but to run away to strip clubs and get laid. That is just some insanely terrible personality and idea of life.
This guy couldn’t even see how much Ani was caring for him and it sucks so much. When you have a girl who cares for you that much, you have to take care and value her more than ever but no. This guy does not care.
When he is finally awake, he pretends to sleep again just to get away from her. It’s heartbreaking when he finally confronts Ani that he wants the divorce as if he were worshipping his parents. He only saw her as an escort rather than a lover which was even more heartbreaking when she had truly loved him.
By the end, he is so pathetic to the point where his mother agrees with Ani’s insult and his father laughs when Ani insults their family because he knows how big of a failure they are. He was laughing at himself.
Ivan was just terrible. How could you be with a girl like Ani and only see her as an escort or worse– a prostitute? I might even argue since Ivan is so unlikable by the end, you would just care for Ani no matter what.
Igor
Igor was a major surprise. Not only was he funny like the others but he also had his own compelling depth to him which gets developed.
The main standout is the dynamic between him and Ani. This guy fell in love the moment he saw her. He tried to talk with her, and it came off so awkward. He is literally me.
He tries to hold her as she goes crazy and even apologizes despite her not wanting to hear him. However, through all this chaos and noise, he would be the only one to rise up and be there for her like the moment at the gas station. Without Ani realizing it, she wasn’t all alone. There was someone there supporting her. That was who he was in this film.
In the restaurant break, Ani wanted to order something else because she knew he was in charge of the bill but he didn’t let her order, so she called him a bunch of swears. Any sane person would have hated her but not this guy. In fact, he loves it. When Ani stood up against Ivan’s family he even smiled at that moment. He was willing to die for her.
Climax
My biggest surprise was the last few minutes of the film, which featured Igor and Ani. After everything was done, Igor was tasked with sending Ani back, but on the way, they could stay in the mansion for a night.
At this point, Ani had her lie exposed right in her face and no matter how hard she tried to conceal it and not shed a tear, she was clearly hurt. At this point, Igor and her were watching TV and Igor mentioned his birthday. He would go on to talk about the meaning of his name, all of it in broken English that amused Ani. She kept calling him swears but she still laughed. What caught me off guard would be him saying he likes Anora more than Ani. That moment made me realize something.
Ani had been referred to by everyone as the sex worker or the girl who got married to a rich guy. All of these things though were lies. Being a sex worker wasn’t awesome nor was lying to herself that the rich guy cared. As I see it, Ani is the lie she gives to herself and even a nickname for the life she wishes she had. One that is not lonely and sad. Anora is her real self just as Igor says it means bright and light. She was bright as in noticeable and different from the rest of the goons Igor had encountered. She was tough and would fight for what she wanted but what was more is that it was the real her. At least, it wasn’t some lie she was living in. She still wouldn’t believe Ivan at the time but the things she did for him were all real. That was Anor, her real self.
Ani goes on to blame Igor for assaulting her where he reveals that he is trying to protect and control her. He didn’t want her to hurt herself which sparked another revelation and perspective on their dynamic. We see how Igor would have to restrict and constrain her whilst also being there to support her. It was then I realized the message of what love truly was. We always say how love improves us like Ani and Ivan with their chaotic life but it’s proven that kind of life doesn’t work. So, what is true love?
Ani would pull the last string accusing Igor that he would have raped her if nobody was there. Igor of course wouldn’t do that and maybe that was the first time Ani had heard it because she brought blankets for him.
From this exchange, I saw two things. One is the layers of these two characters. Igor the socially awkward guy who loves Anora, not just her beauty and whatever men are looking for, he loves her for who she is. The second thing is that true love can be something more than giving both parties support. Something we will see in the final scene.
Finale
The final scene will be one of those scenes that I will remember for a long time. Igor fetches Ani back to her home and before dropping her off, he gives back her ring. Remember, I mentioned how the value of this ring wasn’t from its memory but the price? How a higher price makes Ani continue the lie as a form of validation? Igor just gave it to her. An extremely high-valued piece of jewelry was handed over to her. He could have sold it and made a huge pile of cash, but he didn’t. He gave it back to her as he should.
When Igor came back in, Ani looked at him and told him how he didn’t like his car. Igor was sad but it was clear he did something to her because she discovered something. That was when Ani did something insane and one that I would have never imagined.
Ani hopped onto Igor and began a steamy scene. Don’t get me wrong, but this whole scene was super-hot and the hottest of the others. There was something about it especially from watching Mikey Madison that can make anyone…horny. However, the scene doesn’t end with them climaxing or whatnot. Ani tried to kiss Igor as he leaned in but then she hesitated and held back only for him to hold her, but she fought, and he let go. She hit him over and over until he held and calmed her down. Finally, she collapsed and cried on his shoulders. That was when the film ended. This moment was the most heartbreaking scene of all.
There are a few ways to interpret this. As I see it, I think Ani actually did like or even loved him differently. She saw how this guy wouldn’t rape her and still supported her even if she called him all those things, yet she had to know if he was truly that good.
For all her life, she was seen as an object rather than a person and she was lying to herself that people do care for her and here it was that someone actually did. She wanted to do it. If he was a fake, then it’s just another day in the club but if he was real…that would be different.
When Ani moved away from Igor for the kiss, he held her and at that point, she really thought he would have hurt her and even raped her but he didn’t. She hit him with sadness, anger, and frustration because she was wrong to bully this man but also with relief, joy, and escape from this cycle of her own lie.
Finally, there was one part of her lie that came true. The part that had a good man who actually cared for her. Anora couldn’t hold it back anymore and released all the emotions she felt for all her life on the man who truly loved and cared for her.
That is why Anora isn’t a simple comedy story. It has layers and meanings behind every moment. Outside of its comedy, there are genuine traumatic situations the characters face. Characters who did their best to be accepted by the world only to be thrown out of it.
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Anora is now available on digital
