I joined
and Tyler Tone to discuss Anora, which swept the Oscars this year, including Best Picture. Many spoilers ahead.Some of the ground we cover:
Richard and I argue about whether Ani is a gold digger who falls in love with Vanya only because he’s from a rich family. I think money was responsible for the initial attraction, and that she did later grow to have genuine affection for him. In the same way a man might initially like a woman for her looks, and then come to truly love her. Do superficial reasons for initial attraction negate the possibility of real feelings developing later, or is that how most people fall in love? The answer is obvious to me
Richard suggests the film is anti-Russian whereas I think, if anything, it’s more anti-American. Vanya views America as a land of excess and debauchery, whereas the henchman Igor represents relative restraint and old world values
Digging into a contradiction: Director Sean Baker says the film is meant to show respect to “sex work.” But throughout the film, you see Ani react with fury whenever someone calls her a prostitute. And she latches onto Vanya to escape that way of life. It’s hard to square the nice sentiments of what the director and critics claim with the ugliness of what the film actually depicts
I suggest that if Anora had been made shot-for-shot by a conservative director (e.g., Clint Eastwood or David Mamet), then critics and audiences would have had a very different interpretation of it
Tyler proposes that Ani is a twist on the classic scrappy American hero—not because she outsmarts anyone, but because of her persistence and raw agency
We explore why Ani is framed as likable despite her blunt/offensive language (e.g., she says the word “faggot” in a derogatory way multiple times in the film)—which contemporary cultural elites would usually recoil from
Exploring the intriguing absence of strong male characters in the film—you see the cowardly and shallow Vanya, the bumbling henchman, and the passive oligarch father. The battle of wills takes place between Ani and Galina (Vanya’s mother).
Richard points out that the ending was foreseeable; Ani’s adversary (the heavyset stripper) actually shouts at her “I give it a week”
How many strippers harbor a Cinderella fantasy of marrying their way out, versus just grinding for money?
Igor physically restrains Ani and holds her hostage, and yet the audience is seemingly meant to view him in a sympathetic light. Richard suggests this indicates a cultural shift in perceptions of male aggression and misconduct
The true meaning of the ending and why Ani broke down crying in Igor’s lap
