Anora is a shallow character; not every character is secretly Will Hunting. It isn't a defect in the story that she is kind of empty; most people are kind of dull and uninteresting. She is marrying him for money and she is worried about protecting her status when that is threatened. However, she is not up against some ideal of what a person should be, she is up against her husband and his parents, who turn out to be much more selfish and cruel than she could ever be.
I don’t think it’s wrong to think about the male gaze re: this film, as long as it’s in a nuanced way, not as some dismissive blunt object, lol. But hey, what can you expect from ~*discourse*~ in 2024 on “X, the everything app.” Part of the joy of Annie in this, that makes me love her so much and have my heart break with her in the end, is that she’s just a simple person trying to live her best life in the circumstances she’s in, and exert her worth as a person. A worth that should be obvious and intrinsic and not up for discussion! But, people’s worth and humanity are constantly being questioned in this world we live in, and the wringer she’s put through here is doing its best to crush that out of her. She shouldn’t need any more than we see in this film to prove she isn’t disposable.
Haven't read back through the thread yet so I'm sure this has been discussed, but one thing that stuck out to me was the idea of chains of command, and the pressure to impress (or even just satisfy) bosses who are unreasonable and distant, and who often have someone even more powerful breathing down their own necks. It's obviously there in the Ivan's family and their goons, but also in the way that Ani starts getting more power to assert in her own professional life as she gets access to an external source of income from Ivan.
I always assumed that was due to his small budget DIY origins, but now that he is going to get a lot more money and offers I wonder if he will shift.
This was good, although I did find it a bit long and I do side with some of the criticism regarding Anora as a character; with a performance that good, I feel like we could have gotten just a little more depth. A rewatch might do this some favors though, as my expectations were extremely high. 1. Tangerine 2. Take Out 3. The Florida Project 4. Starlet 5. Anora 6. Red Rocket
Man, this ruled. One thing that really stood out to me as brilliant was the many scenes where multiple people were talking and being able to still understand what everyone is saying. Just so well put together in that regard. It can be tricky sometimes when people are talking over each other, but this just nailed those moments. When this basically became a “road trip” movie it just went to a whole other level.
There is the slapstick element in the middle, but definitely not the ending. Why are musicals and comedies lumped together? What if the musical is very dramatic?