The Criterion Collection have been announcing some great titles these last few months. Though in this month of April, they’ve decided to add a newer movie to the collection in form of Sean Baker’s Anora. Released just last year, Anora swept up the Academy Awards last month by netting five wins (including Best Picture). While some might question why its in the collection so soon, this is another solid release from Criterion.
The Movie
Anora tells the story of Ani, a sex worker living in Brighton Beach. One night, she’s introduced to a young man named Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov. Vanya turns out to be the son of a Russian oligarch and Ani spends a lot of her time with Vanya over the next few weeks for companionship and sex. On an impulse, the two get married in Las Vegas, which leads to Vanya’s family demanding for the marriage to be annulled.
Anora is a unique movie with it’s portrayal and depiction of sex workers. It’s gotten praise from the community, who have claimed it to be fairly realistic. This is one of the movie’s strengths: the realness of the world its creating. For some people, Anora might feel too real: the sexual content can be jarring for most viewers. In defense of the movie, this is truth of sex work: it’s not a pretty picture. On top of this, Baker and his crew shot this movie within 40 days. Baker is a an unconventional type of filmmaker. Whether it be Tangerine or The Florida Project, Baker constantly uses lesser known actors and/or actors that have little to no experience at all. With that, this explains why the movie feels so grounded in reality.
Of the performances in this movie, Mikey Madison is the clear standout in her portrayal as Ani. Ani is a rough talking Brighton Beach lady who is trying to make ends meet. While she has some friends (and enemies) in her line of work, she’s looking for something better. Opportunity arrives in the form of Vanya, who is very wealthy. She decides to settle down with him, thinking her life can change. Instead, she’s taken on an unexpected journey. In this journey, we learn more about Ani while Ani learns more about everyday people. While Madison might steal the show, the other actors have a chance to shine as well. Mark Eydelshyeyn is great as the childish Vanya while Yura Borisov is stellar as bodyguard Igor. Karren Kalagulian is also a standout as Vanya’s godfather Toros. Kalagulian has appeared in almost all of Sean Baker’s movies. His performance as Toros is a commanding and domineering while also comedic.
As far as themes go, Anora tackles a number of them. For one thing, the sadness and grimness of the sex worker profession is captured here. While this maintains a comedic tone, you have to keep in mind that this is their life: it’s sad to think there are people in a profession as demanding as this. There’s also a theme of generation gap: throughout the movie, most of the older characters are frequently clashing with the younger characters. This themes, amongst others, all make Anora a delightful movie to watch.
Supplements/Bonus Features
Anora comes with a second disc filled with a slew of bonus features. There’s close to three hours of bonus features here and they are as follows:
– interview with Sean Baker
– interview with Sean Baker and Mikey Madison
– Anora: Stripped Down (an hour long documentary on the making of the movie)
– Cannes Press Conference
– Mikey Madison (Ani) and Lindsey Normington (Diamond) interview (featurette about the sex worker profession, featuring parts of a screening of the movie for sex workers)
– Deleted Scenes
– Audition Footage
– Trailers
Of these, the Stripped Down documentary might be of most interest. Keep in mind: this a a documentary made by everyone working on the movie, using their cell phones to keep diaries of their days on the set. It’s not structured like a typically documentary but much like Baker’s other work, it’s very DIY. The interviews with Baker give more insight to the movies the inspired Anora while the sex worker featurette is a simple but nice addition, putting a spotlight on the hard work involved in the sex worker scenes.
Along with the second disc is a booklet with essays from film critic Dennis Lim and author Kier-La Janisse. There’s also two audio commentaries with the movie on the first disc. For fun, there’s even a audio track for the visually impaired. If you want a good laugh, listen to it for a few minutes during the movie. You won’t regret it, especially during the sex scenes.
Conclusion
Anora is a fine addition to the Criterion Collection and this release does it justice. While the movie is recent, the bonus features make you have an appreciation as how this movie was made. If any downsides for the movie or the bonus content, it does get repetitive quickly (more so for the bonus features). Though if you adored this movie, you’re going the love this release.
Movie Rating: 8/10
Release Rating: 8/10
I'm a writer/journalist with a passion for music and pop culture. Having graduated from King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 2014, I've been looking for a platform in which I can share my passions. Since 2009, I've been posting to my own blog- The Walrus' Music Blog- via Blogger. I'm also the author of two self-published books, "The Camp: Stories from the Summer" and "The College: Stories from King's." Together, the two books cover the story of my life from 2004 to 2014. I've been lucky enough to interview several of my favorite musicians over the years and go to concerts from time to time. I'm also very devoted to the CBS reality TV show Survivor, which I started watching in 2002 when its fourth season started. I currently live in New Jersey.