I finally watched Anora on the big screen, a few days after it sweeped Oscars. I used to despise Oscars, which tend to honor predictable mainstream epics. But recently awarded films – Parasite, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Nomadland, etc – changed my perception. They are creative, unconventional, and remarkable. Anora has some weaknesses in comparison. Still, it is an intense story center on the ill fated love affair of Anora.
(Spoiler alert: this post contains much plot development)
It started off as a transactional relationship between the exotic dancer Annie and the ultra rich brat Ivan. On an impulse, they got married. The family back in Russia were shocked by the news and wasted no time to break them up.
This story cannot have a happy ending. Had his parents not intervene, this marriage would crash and burn on its own. The novelty and sex would quickly wear out. No sooner would Ivan get tired of her and find new interests. The truth is that they are still children who don’t know true intimacy. Their love and marriage is a mere delusion. I find the Las Vegas backdrop very fitting, a setup of a grand and glamorous illusion.
Feisty and fierce, Annie defended herself alone in front of the brutes sent by the family. She repeatedly asserts herself as Ivan’s wife, an identity outright dismissed by the handlers. To them, she is a prostitute. When his overbearing mother finally arrived from Russia to settle this personally, she didn’t even acknowledge her. After searching for Ivan all night, he was found enjoying a lap dance with another stripper, dead drunk. Despite her frantic effort to connect with him, he barely gave Annie any thought. She thought it was love. It never was.
Ironically, some media describe it as a Cinderella story. Anora is too real to be a fairy tale.