Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Oct 20, 2024
Table of Contents
Cannes Film Festival movies have a problem: When they’re at the festival, generally, the marketing and hype around them feels very stuffy. I got the chance to go to Cannes this past May, and had the absolute time of my life seeing tons of movies, new and old. While there, ‘Anora’ didn’t really get my heart beating. Maybe I didn’t do enough research before the festival, maybe I wasn’t familiar enough with Sean Baker, maybe it was a me problem. But when all you have is a promotional image and maybe a trade review or two to work with, it’s hard to get into a movie you don’t already know a lot about. The problem with Cannes festival entrants is that they don’t have trailers or teasers or fun to bring audiences in. That detail actually exemplifies the whole festival in terms of how hoity-toity and behind-closed-doors it feels (and the organizers seem to want it to feel), but I digress.
When I finally saw Mikey Madison as Ani yelling at a bunch of thugs in a trailer for ‘Anora’ a few weeks ago, I finally understood what Neon had seen in Sean Baker’s latest film, and why they had staked their claim on what became their fifth Palme d’Or winner in a row. I was instantly hooked, as were many theater goers who filled theaters during ‘Anora’s limited release over the weekend of October 18th. An intoxicating blend of acting, directing, and story, ‘Anora’ is poised for a great run this awards season and to open the eyes of many to just how far someone can push themselves for love… or desperation. As a side note, Anora is rated R, and the below review touches on some of the reasons as to why.
Ani (Madison) is an exotic dancer and sex worker in New York City living with her sister, when one night during the holiday season a patron comes in asking for someone who speaks Russian. Meet Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of an obscenely rich Russian oligarch with not a care in the world. Their relationship explodes more than blossoms, and in just a couple of weeks they’re in Vegas getting hitched, in love and in need of what the other has: a way out of her economic situation, and a way out of returning to Russia back under his parents’ watchful eyes. As soon said parents catch wind of their son’s “disgraceful” situation, they send their thugs (Karren Karagulian as Toros, Vache Tovmasyan as Garnick, and Yura Borisov as Igor) to get the marriage annulled. Cue a wild all night goose chase after Ivan through every inch of New York City. In the interest of keeping spoilers to a minimum, the synopsis stops here, but the ending is simultaneously exactly where one thinks it’ll end up, and the last thing one would expect.
A truly innovative take on the classic Cinderella story, Baker excels here as a writer, and everywhere else as an incredible director, bringing this vision to life on screen. His elevated 70s aesthetic in a modern New York and Las Vegas is glitzy, glamorous, and trashy all in equal measure. You can see right through the rich facade of any character, there’s not even an illusion for the audience. Whether that illusion works for the characters remains to be seen, and whether or not you think the characters really believe what they see and say can make this a completely different viewing experience from theater goer to theater goer.
Madison is so fun to watch throughout ‘Anora’. She’s the centerpiece of a great ensemble cast, pulling off sweet and fun just as well as desperate with her fangs out. Ani is pragmatic but a dreamer, loving life and hating the world for what it’s doing to her, everything all at once expressed through an impeccable New York accent that drips sarcasm and seriousness at the same time. She’s the perfect heroine for this story, and you’re rooting for her the whole way through. Dare I say, if Palme d’Or winners could win multiple awards, Madison could have walked away with Best Actress. Eydelsteyn plays entitled rich git so well it’s scary, and the ensemble of gaggle with diverging priorities blend villain and comic relief in a unique way that plays extremely well on screen. The writing for every character is spot on, flipping between languages and tones seamlessly, it’s a dream to watch and seems like a dream to act given how well everyone pulls it off. Never has a multilingual film that is this talky ever felt so effortless.
I’ve only been able to marinate on Anora for about 24 hours between watching it and writing this review, and I still want time and space to process it. It can be a tough watch as a fellow 20-something year old girl, not necessarily for Ani’s profession (which Baker treats with basic human decency and respect, rather than demonizing the sex workers in the film or blaming Ani for what’s happening), but for how powerless everyone around her tried to make her feel all night as the henchmen drag her around New York looking for Ivan. It’s scary, and every time she stands up for herself someone manages to pull her back into line. The world hates a successful woman getting everything she wants, and as much as we as an audience want redemption for Ani, a payoff, a resolution, an escape, it doesn’t come. Things go back to the way they were, in her head and in her world, and the end really broke my heart. The movie magic is in how it’ll break yours, because you might not see it coming. I came away contemplating a lot, which I didn’t expect of a comedy, but the end makes it a Palme d’Or winner, and a feat of writing I just didn’t see coming. Or didn’t want to see coming.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
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