Watching the first 11 minutes as the title character Anora grinds and slithers into a series of lap dances, I intuited one reason the movie got so many great reviews from male critics. Continuing a penchant for recreating the everyday world of sex workers in projects like Tangerine, writer-director Sean Baker respects his subjects, though this work’s graphic nature muddles the line between accuracy and exploitation. Still, Baker makes a point with his early scenes: Anora likes her work and displays impressive skills at it. Even so, she demonstrates sad naivete after falling for a barely adult, hyper wealthy Russian client. Understandably, she never saw the Federico Fellini film Nights of Cabiria, (which eventually turned into the musical Sweet Charity) and its wistful ending; Anora the character seems more attuned to the Pretty Woman approach with its Cinderella dreaming. Following the sex worker with "a-heart-of-gold” motif, Mikey Madison mixes toughness and vulnerability in a star-making performance that features an outstanding monologue as events go haywire during the movie’s middle act. With the kind of craziness found in P.T. Anderson’s Boogie Nights or a Quentin Tarantino project, director Baker successfully plays for comic ineptitude before shifting back into a sadder reality. All this makes a long stretch at 2-plus hours, but the running time allows the chance for other actors to shine including Mark Eidelstein as the spoiled client and Yura Borisov as a protective henchman. Off kilter characters highlight Anora, though many viewers might just want to watch because of all those lap dances.
Opmerkingen