OH WOW 'ANORA'!

Spoke too soon about my favorite films of the year.

I’d been slow to see ‘Anora,’ despite the critical praise its been receiving since the spring. Not sure if the description put me off or middle aged laziness. But my wife was overdue for a movie night and the film was playing at the Angelika on Houston Street which, in the ‘90 sglory days of indie film, was my go to cinema. It was great to sit in its spacious lobby and recall all the remarkable films I’d seen there, even with the subway that rumbles through the walls at screenings.

Well, re ‘Anora’ I have to add belated praise for a remarkable film that balances tones like a acrobat on a high wire. Sean Baker’s film is an inspired blend of the Coen Brothers, John Cassavetes, Robert Altman, screwball comedy and soft core porn. This film should not work, but does so beautifully because the staging of the action — be it at a strip club, a gaudy mansion or a Russian restaurant in Brighton Beach — is complex with multiple actions within any frame and overlapping dialogue.

Moreover all the characters, not matter how small the speaking part, are explored in a detail that few directors are capable of. I was a fan of Baker’s ‘Florida Project.’ This film shows major growth, particularly in directing his two protagonist Mikey Madison as the title character and Mark Eidenstein as a spoiled Russian millionaire’s son. Not to forget Yura Borisov’s surprisingly sensitive thug.

If you have a problem with nudity and simulated on screen sex, the first half hour of ‘Anora’ you may find challenging, but the sex is contextualized as a product of commerce in a way that reveals character. Moreover it’s all paid off with an stunning closing scene that illustrates the pain underneath Madison’s Anora. As a look at a New York ethnic world ‘Anora’ should be on a double bill with the Adam Sandler vehicle ‘Uncut Gems.’ It’s a view of Brooklyn, my home town, that captures its capitalistic hustle.