Countdown to the Oscars: Anora

(WNDU) – The nominations for the upcoming 97th Academy Awards have been announced; one of the films nominated for Best Picture is “Anora.”

1990’s “Pretty Woman” holds up today as one of the most embraced romantic comedies of all time. Its approach of bringing adult entertainment to the forefront of a motion picture to this day is considered both a bold and risky decision to make by any filmmaker. Director Sean Baker (The Florida Project) brings a similar and more realistic premise with “Anora.” It results in a film that is both appealing and enjoyable upon first view.

Mikey Madison (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) stars as the titular young exotic dancer who, after a few encounters with a young Russian client (played by Mark Eidelstein), agrees to marry him so he can remain in the country and continue to have the same amount of fun he’s currently having every day. While life appears to have turned into a bit of a fairy tale come true for Ani, the storybook begins to crack when confronted by the threat of her new husband’s successful parents and a possible annulment.

From start to finish, “Anora” goes through several transitions which makes it feel like a few separate films have been combined in one and some scenes tend to drag for quite a while. This, however, doesn’t matter as the movie is so entertaining and well balanced as a whole that viewers won’t care how long it is. The timing and editing work that by the time the credits roll, it feels like you’ve truly entered the lives of the characters. In other words, it assists in the attempt to make the film feel like a reality therefore, audiences won’t take their eyes off screen as it plays out.

Mikey Madison single-handedly dominates the screen in a performance filled with many elements including happiness, heartbreak, sexy, and humorous. The main humor is achieved by the actors in the roles of the Russian henchmen sent to collect the newlyweds halfway through. While we have seen characters and situations like this play out before, never has it been given so much attention in both detail and suspense; this adds layers to each person in the film even if they’re not on screen that long. This also leads to some laugh out loud moments both in dialogue and physical technique. The editing was not only timed perfectly right but the idea of synchronizing overlapping dialogue together was handled greatly to feel genuine.

While it might not come from a big shot motion picture studio, Neon’s “Anora” is still a success in many ways. As a whole, it’s a vision that ponders the question: What if you got what you’ve been dreaming of for years? It tackles themes of both affection and devastation and leaves you wondering where we go from here. While it lends its genres to both romance and comedy, the real category shelf this movie will be in is reality; and whether or not it is something people would want to live, it is something they should see.

Grade on the Slacker Scale: A-

The 97th Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. EST.