Why Anora is the Disney Princess We Need

[@selunescorpio]

Anora’s ending is one of my favorite film endings ever. It perfectly conveys the feeling of coming back down to the soul-crushing reality that you live in for so long, you become numb to it. When you’re pulled out of said reality, you feel euphoric and unstoppable, so to be brought back to that reality is one of the worst fates. Ani is a deeply real, relatable character.

[@lucan9750]

@@selunescorpio what are you on about? Go watch harmony korine.

[@creamtangerine85]

@lucan9750 what are YOU on about? What that person said makes perfect sense, and what does this director have to do with anything?

[@SallyMankus130]

Ani has some sincerely authentic qualities, but others feel more like screenplay necessities, mostly designed to push her in a certain direction. It's pretty difficult to believe someone as savvy as her would buy Ivan’s supposed devotion, or that she would even consider seriously dating someone with his juvenile demeanor. She also doesn’t really seem like the type to overlook the fact that everything he owns is probably coming from his parents. The last hourish of the film is so effective that it drowns out the flaws in the first half, but on reflection, you can feel the weight of the contrivances. Honestly, the film might’ve been better if it started after the second montage. You would sacrifice some character investment, but it would open up space for the audience to fill in their own gaps.

[@gleewhoseline198]

@@SallyMankus130 The thing is a person can be kind of savvy AND naïve. I think if someone offered an opportunity to escape their working life to live in excess, many people would overlook a few flaws. That's what makes it relatable. Also something to remember, Ani is more careful at the beginning, charging holiday rates and upping the pay for being his hired girlfriend. Her mistake is becoming intoxicated by the appeal of leaving her working life behind to marry him, and everyone makes impulsive decisions in their life, this one just had big consequences.

[@stanfhndnsjcjs]

Something I loved about the ending is that Ani only starts hitting Igor when he touches her. Despite her initiating sex, it’s Igor’s sexual desire of her which sets her anger off because she’s traumatized from the manipulation and emptiness of Vanya’s sexual attraction to her. She suddenly fears that her desire for love is once again being exploited.

[@joshm.1483]

Exactlyyy

[@jojopatrice19]

perfectly said I felt this as well but couldn't quite put it to words.

[@clownpendotfart]

I don't read it that way at all. She's not set off by Igor's sexual attraction, but by him taking action and touching where whereas he had initially been passive while she was the active party. In a lapdance like at the beginning of the film, the stripper acts on the client (who is generally assumed to be sexually attracted to the stripper) but the client is limited in their ability to touch the stripper. Igor began to kiss her, which is definitely not allowed in a lapdance, and would thus constitute a violation of a boundary. What distinguished Vanya from other clients at the club is that he switched from being mere client to not only her "exclusive" boyfriend but even husband.

[@SallyMankus130]

Strange reading. She's currently engaging in sex as a distraction, but when she feels he's seeking genuine intimacy, everything she’s been suppressing rushes to the surface, and she lashes out. Additionally, someone as savvy as Ani wouldn’t be "manipulated" by Ivan. She was at least partially marrying for the lifestyle and the inheritance.

[@marthaquest2798]

For me Igor represented her identity and ethnicity that she was desperately trying to push away. At the beginning of the film she mentions Vania that she knows Russian because her grandmother never learned English. Throughout the film we see her insisting that her name in Ani instead of Anora essentially denying her origins. In the final scene, she accepts the love and consideration of Igor inside his grandmother's car. A grandmother form Russia and him an immigrant.

[@jjdriessen]

This is the only piece of media I've seen about this film that seems to understand what it's actually about. Thank you for breaking this down and actually focusing on the fairytale and class aspects of the story.

[@ayamutakino]

shame she didn’t do the same with barbie and mention the lego movie, one of the best films ever created, as a valuable touchstone on modern cinema.

[@alfredmeneses5496]

Anora was really made for us millennials and older gen Z who grew up on Cinderella style teen rom-coms. As a millennial myself I ate up the whole Cinderella love story in movies that it really f*d up my expectations once I became an adult trying to date and find “the one”. I really loved how it took all the tropes and put it in a more modern and real-life context. Ani isnt a damsel in distress princess who needs saving, although deep down I feel she wants that. She wanted Vanya to be the Prince Charming, but he turned out to be just an immature boy. And i really loved what they did with Igor ‘s character, how we’re introduced to him as a “goon”, but as the search for Vanya developed, we keep seeing him more as just a lower economic class average joe just taking a job to survive (like Ani), and how while everyone is so focused on Vanya, he’s the only one who actually cares and shows true respect for Ani because he relates to her. And Ani is mean to him because I think he doesn’t fit the type of guy she deals with constantly. So when she’s presented with a guy who actually has the ability to show respect and tenderness instead pure lust, she doesn’t understand it or know how to deal with it, which is why I think she breaks down, because while she’s trying to give him just sex as a transaction to thank him for the ring, he offers a gesture of tender intimacy which sets her off.

[@FairyBogFather]

oof ow, well said

[@michaelstrong5383]

You described my thoughts on this movie perfectly. I also like to think Ani doesn't like Igor because he represents Ani's old life which she never wants to go back to, even when everything around her is telling her how fake Vanya and his "love" for her is.

[@jay1jayf]

ain't no way bro is trying to normalize hore behavior as poor lil princess.

[@SallyMankus130]

I can say with immense certainty that Sean Baker didn't make the film thinking about gen zers. It's also more of a spin on Pretty Woman than any Cinderella style teen rom-coms.

[@alfredmeneses5496]

@@SallyMankus130I didn’t say that was Sean baker’s intention, Karen. I know it was a spin on pretty woman. Seeing it as a deconstruction of the Cinderella story was just how I interpreted it and why I resonated with the film.

[@HenNgTr]

Regarding Igor and Ani at the end, I couldn't help but think of how that class divide was communicated through touch. Specifically when Garnik and Toros mention they can't touch her. It might be a throwaway line but then no one touches her outside of her class, except Vanya of course. And its definitely no coincidence Ani cuts Igors face with the slap and Diamond cuts Anis face in the same place.

[@lucan9750]

@@HenNgTr stfu please the film is not that deep, y'all see a director who has some sort of representation and think the film is a mpiece because of that. It's a good fun flick with a sad ending why are you pretending it's art house?

[@Hannah-vz9pz]

What do u think the cut signifies

[@HenNgTr]

@Hannah-vz9pz I'd probably say specifically towards Ani's cut, its a reminder to her shes not a part of Vanya's world as much as shes convinced herself to be. Shes not untouchable, shes not on Vanya's level and the facade is almost over.

[@maggyfrog]

the final scene is the only scene where ani actually experiences a mutual human connection, a first time for her in a long time it seems. and it breaks her because she did not expect her "prince charming" to be this ordinary humble guy who can't give her the life of opulence she was intoxicated into dreaming of.

[@lucan9750]

@@maggyfrog ur giving too much credit to her she's dumb because she's used to sex work customers it's not that deep

[@shayanahmed7132]

I also felt it was her dumping all the trauma and craziness she's experienced for the full day before, the heartbreak of knowing she never had a escape and is going back into her old painful life and the idea that she's been servicing clients for so long, she's forgotten what actual intimate love making is where someone just loves you unconditionally Also I think they heavily implied she suffered SA in the past

[@maggyfrog]

@@shayanahmed7132 i agree except for the SA part, although it's sadly common among sx workers. i'm more inclined to assume that ani is just all too aware of the ever-present danger of being rped and just automatically suspects it as the nature of men who get close to women like her. because if she had been rped before, she would never even allow herself to be comfortable around igor whom she was convinced could have SA'd her awhile back.

[@JenikaVonLea]

I've only seen the film once but if my memory is correct, in the car he keeps direct eye contact and she begins to cry when he touches the back of her neck with passion. Eailer in the movie her sex was fast and clumsy. Anora even tries to give guidance because the rich kid is a jack rabbit.

[@jjdriessen]

This. In a film in which most of the people - and especially Ani - are dehumanized by the wealthy family, this is the first time she's treated as a human being. For me, the message of this film is: Eat the rich before they eat you.

[@mittenfits]

I think it makes sense that we don’t learn much more of her inner world than what the movie shows us. Grind culture as a young adult can limit themselves from truly knowing themselves outside of the elements of their personality they can sell. I loved the detail of highlighting her American accent through her otherwise fluent Russian. Being raised in an immigrant household also adds complexity to really knowing oneself through the simultaneous need to assimilate to survive. Her spirit is teeming with the American dream but she isn’t asleep to the reality of how to get what she wants, which likely includes the luxury of time and safety to truly get to know herself.

[@ammonfrederickharteis8808]

At 18:20, I think the home invasion scene is within the realm of believability because: (1) the goons are NOT depicted as top-tier talents, (2) the goons were suddenly told about Vanya's situation and did not have time to make preparations, (3) the goons were not expecting to have to fight someone and seemingly didn't bring weapons, (4) the goons' goal is to get Vanya and Ani is afterthought to them at the beginning of the scene, (5) the goons are ultimately successful at restraining Ani and she spends the rest of the night as their captive.

[@AREA-jp8vb]

I really like the ending. although we see Igors compassion towards Anora through out the movie, she doesn’t see it because of everything happening. Igor giving her the ring before she gets out to leave was the moment she saw it. He had just given her something of extreme value and wanted nothing in return from her. And as a sex worker in that particular situation it would be surprising. And then she tried to “thank him” the only way she knew how, sex. maybe him seeing her as a human aloud for her subconscious to feel safe enough to finally let out the emotions she had been holding in from what she just went through. Even though I don’t think she loved Vania, she was losing her fairytale escape. And everybody except for Igor treated her or discarded her like trash. It doesn’t matter how strong of a person you are, being treated like a subhuman will break you.

[@Dm34421]

Theres something tender and chaotic about Sean Baker’s films, its a step above slice of life movies like Support our girls that focuses on restaurant employees

[@cinemacola6398]

Love all of Sean Bakers films (which surprisingly doesn't happen often where I love all of a filmmakers work.) I didn't like the ending of Anora at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. Anora comes off as hard, hiding her feelings throughout. The end was really the first scene where we see her vulnerability and how she becomes defensive from Igor kissing her because she doesn't want to fall into the trap of love again.

[@essies4294]

That’s not why. It’s because he’s breaking the “rules” of the transaction as she sees it.

[@JacquelineMoreno-v4c]

Oh my god even showing the clip from the end of Florida Project made me well up. What a good ending

[@cormoranstrike1544]

This was my film of the year. I love that in the end, the only proper villains of the film was rich people.

[@KushKiki]

Yes!!!

[@Extracredittttt]

Anora isnt perfect, but anytime i see someone say that it is poorly written or underdeveloped, i find myself reflexively thinking they must have a shallow understanding of writing

[@geekymanatee]

Reading through some of the comments I'm a bit concerned by the people who are insistent that they "cannot tell you a thing about Anora as a character" or her personal life. Despite the fact that we are shown her work and economic status, her dynamic with her coworkers, glimpses into her home life with her sister, and some of her interests through her dynamic with Ivan. We may not have scenes of her engaging in hobbies or spilling details about her personal life but if you watched the movie and find yourself struggling to name a single thing about her characterization then that's far more reflective of your media comprehension and not an issue with the text of the film.

[@fluff975]

💯

[@gleewhoseline198]

The problem is that requires people to look a little deeper and actually think about the movie after, instead of rushing to spill out their thought online to get likes lol. Media literacy is awful nowadays

[@ayamutakino]

People need to learn about visual storytelling.

[@hibahussein4605]

But like who is Anora? why is she a sex worker, why does she fall so easily into the trap? You would expect her to know better due to her line of work and the dangers it brings but she just goes with it why? I'm sorry but this film was weak in terms of exploring a character's motives and depth and it was just a way for a male director to exploit a young actor and call it art without showing any form of nuance. plus Ani and her sister had like one scene together for like 10 seconds which gave us no context, like what her sister does, are they close, does she go to school, does she know what Ani does for a living, we get nothing. the film gets caught up in the mess for Ivan that we loss Anora. This film could have been great but it just sucks.

[@ayamutakino]

@@hibahussein4605 Maybe you need to learn about visual storytelling and filling in the gaps.

[@stanfhndnsjcjs]

It really was the ending of Anora that completed the film for me but I wish it was spread throughout the movie. I wonder if I watched it again, I would see more of what I saw in her at the end

[@petern326]

pointing at the actors in anora in other Baker films like Star Wars easter eggs

[@michaelstrong5383]

Especially the actor who played Toros. Believe it or not, he's been in Sean Baker's other movies.

[@susurrus23]

This'll make such a banging end to my 2024 🥂🤍

[@stink..]

I personally loved the subtlety of character interiority. As a working class woman, I could read Ani without having the dialogue delivered and explained to me. And the subtle little glimpses of her real personality felt so special and sacred.

[@valenfr01]

i agree that baker doesn't grant his characters those introspective moments where we would get to know the character better, and that we get to know them through their actions and decisions, but i think that the plot heavy-ness of Anora (in comparison to all his other work) makes the viewer loose sight of Ani in the thick of the film. I didn't think Baker struck that balance quite right. i loved the ending but we genuinely don't know all that much about the main character of our eponymous movie. When Vanya's mom threatens all she has, her family and friends i had to stop and think. What does she have? Does she have a thing to loose, other than her dignity of course. We saw her for a few seconds with her sister and friend but it's all so irrelevant to her character, i had almost forgotten. I still liked Anora, but i can't help to think it could've been a lot more.

[@s.g.7572]

I don't think it's about what Annie could lose so much as it's about the sheer humiliation of being so disrespected by someone who you cannot touch in any way. It's so dehumanising for her, and she knows it.

[@valenfr01]

@s.g.7572 that's a good point

[@halane4790]

I think that is the point of that scene. The rich woman can't notice she has nothing (or barely anything) left to lose other than what Vanya has given her.

[@quadram2561]

oh how i love this channel !!

[@famousprophets66]

I was JUST wondering if this video would come before or after new year OMG

[@KisaStars]

i swear, you always make me wanna watch a movie that I initialy had no interest in. I am currently writing a thesis on a documentary analysis and listening to you gets even more interesting, now that I am deep in the analysis. Thank you so much for making cultural artefacts even more intriguing, accessible and curious to explore. I would have loved a chat with you about my paper, one can dream. All the best!

[@endcored.4110]

20:40 Okay, so, I think it's a very bad faith argument to dismiss a criticism by making a hyperbole out of it. When a good part of the audience responded to the movie with a criticism of Anora being underdeveloped, that doesn't mean we need a monologue, that doesn't mean we need a 5 minute info-dump expository scene. I find it really distasteful to see a criticism of a work of art (or anything, tbh) and respond to that with a hyperbole of what the person saying the criticism is expecting or asking of the film, it inherently ridicules the argument because the hyperbole creates an exaggerated version of the other's person point that is easier to attack than the actual point, as the hyperbole stripes the argument of its seriousness. Specially coming from a creator like you, it should be already understood and internalized that the language of movies can convey a lot of development for a character in really tasteful and subtle ways. We could have gotten a LOT of development for this character with a couple of 30 seconds scenes, that don't need to be expository. Baker could've used aspects of the character design to convey this, for example, coming from a character as Anora, it would be normal for her to have a couple of tattoos. With only a little detail like a tattoo we could explore the past of Anora in symbols that create somewhat of a backstory for her without a flashback or an info-dump scene of her past, specially considering that tattoos are often a way to register someone's story and feelings. And that's just to say something because there's waaaay too many paths the writers can use to create these types of scenarios. WIth someone like Baker, that clearly has a good control of the creative process, there would be no real justification on why he would refrain for creating a moment like this instead of just deciding not to. Apart from this, I do like the framework and vision you're putting on Baker's film, but it seems to me more like a way of justifying a bias than actually helping the movie to sustain its points. Many of the things said in this video are mostly based on assumptions (or maybe not assumptions, but many points seem to use little details in the performances and filling gaps with interpretations instead of showing things we actually missed from the text) and isn't really sustained by the text or the subtext, for that matter. Also, if we were to try to look to Anora's character with the specific lens of trying to create a profile of her desires and motivations through little details on the performance, then it seems weird that this is not something that the movie really asks you to do. I don't see anything on the text that prompts you to give this specific look to Anora, specially when the rest of the characters are not displayed in the same light and are fleshed-out in a more frontal way. As a last thought, Anora seems to be one of the least economically struggling characters in Baker's filmography, so I don't really think the argument of her life being a non-stop hustle is enough justification for her not having a single moment of introspection, specially when its very well known that mundane scenes as choosing what to wear for the day or taking a bath have a great potential to develop a character through single details that can say way more about a character than an info-dump scene. It's hard for me to believe that in the time-span of this story there couldn't have been a single moment of reflection for Anora's character. I believe this is a fair effort to try for an argument that could get the conversation moving, specially when it comes to the divided opinions that this film received. However, the dismissive nature of these arguments towards the criticisms the movie has received, seems to operate on an assumption that said criticism don't really go further than the common statements we're seeing all around of Anora being underdeveloped or hers being a bad representation of sex workers (also, I was kind of expecting some insight on the weird-ass nature of some of the comedy scenes that for me seemed just a little bit shady). And since most of these arguments are built on the assumption that Baker already did the best thing he could have done with the character, said assumption seems to forget the creative control and character-building potential of small details within films. We don't need a 10min mirror monologue scene. A couple of more details would've been enough and trying to make that seem like its asking for too much seems really unfair.

[@littlelordfuckleroy3822]

This is a really good response to the video, hope she sees this

[@gh0s1wav]

Love how detailed you went with this reply. I think Anora is Baker's first movie to get out of the indy echo chamber to where it's really being criticized...on top of that strange ending. Every one of his films relies on hollow characters. I didn't realize this until I watched Anora and I literally went back and watched his whole filmography in the hopes that it wasn't true but it is. The most fleshed out character is still kind of cartoonish and that's the main character in Red Rocket. To me that's also his best movie. His second best movie is Tangerine mostly because it actually moves. His other movies are pretty to look at (except Starlet, bland ugly movie) but meanders...it's like suppose to be slice of life films but if you don't give a fuq about the characters what are we doing. Tangerine and Red Rocket are engaging simply because they have a plot to make up for the hollow characters they portray. When it comes to se*work the best movie is definitely Tangerine because it actually sorta shows what that kind of life is like. In all his other movies se*work could be replaced with any low wage job/alot of other jobs and it would still be the same movie.

[@ayamutakino]

what did you expect from the essayist who didn’t discuss about the works of phil lord & chris miller but fucking live-action disney remakes as the peak of meta-modernism?

[@essies4294]

@@ayamutakinoand doesn’t understand obvious pointed movie plots like that the black cousin in Saltburn was NOT GUILTY of trying to sell his family’s antiques but was set up after being SA’d by the lying main character who “unalived” 3 people

[@clownpendotfart]

"Baker could've used aspects of the character design to convey this, for example, coming from a character as Anora, it would be normal for her to have a couple of tattoos." There's a scene where a fellow-stripper contrasts Ani's butterfly tattoos with her own dollar-sign tattoos "like a real ho". "Many of the things said in this video are mostly based on assumptions [...] and isn't really sustained by the text or the subtext" What things aren't sustained?! Specify your complaints. "It's hard for me to believe that in the time-span of this story there couldn't have been a single moment of reflection for Anora's character." It wouldn't have been impossible, but I believe the film is intended to depict a whirlwind experience for her in which she only gets to decompress at the end.

[@ayanna6327]

I actually didn't want Ani to end up with Igor, I liked them as unconventional platonic pals and was actually disappointed when they hooked up at the end, because I assumed it was just another start for the cycle for Ani; but I am happy it's not completely hopeless, because Igor did hold her, so...maybe there is hope.

[@manzell]

@@ayanna6327 the cycle for Ani is just sex and money. Her breaking down and crying is, I think, supposed to mean she's in a different place - as much as sex is used as a representation of female vulnerability, obviously Ani uses it as armor (familiar trope in post 9/11 filmmaking). So that she finally, if even for a moment stops using that armor, she's allowing herself to go to a healthier, more authentic emotional place

[@minimarsbars]

You never miss honestly! I’m not going to lie I was pretty flabbergasted at some of the takes I read after I saw the movie. I thought it was very obvious that Anora was ultimately a fairytale and a commentary on class divide and that her breakdown at the end was clearly the emotional release she had needed for the last 48 hours. I’ve seen people use her insistance that Vanya doesn’t want a divorce and her naivety as failure in Baker’s writing because surely an experienced sex worker should be wise to the empty promises of men? And they argue that this is something inherently misogynistic, that’s she’s dumbed down and cast aside for the sake of the screwball plot and that we learn more about Igor than we do her (which is the most insane take I’ve seen). Those same people then complain about her lack of depth and interiority and it amazes me because they’re literally arguing against themselves? Ani being a naive optimist and a clued in sex worker are not mutually exclusive because she’s a human being and isn’t defined by just one set of tropey characteristics. She is complex and sympathetic and being unable to relate or connect to her is, in my opinion, a (completely valid) personal issue rather than a writing issue. I don’t need exposition or backstory to understand the desire to rise above your standings. I think it’s very easy to see how a 23 year old woman could be hoodwinked by a handsome, charismatic guy who’s sweet and likes to have fun with her. The proposal scene is endearing and romantic and I just know some of those detractors were also carried away with the fairytale romance of it all just like Ani was. I think her temporary lapse in judgement and subsequent anger makes her even more relatable.m I also think critics of this film reduce its characters down to the most one dimensional versions of themselves which is something Baker was clearly trying to subvert. The number of times I’ve seen Igor written off as a dangerous abuser when he’s clearly much more complex, is annoying. He’s obviously a kindred spirit for Ani - considered another one the dregs of society, living paycheck to paycheck and also a cultural link to her heritage. Ani’s family could’ve easily named her something more ‘American’ but they didn’t which suggests that her name was chosen for its meaning and makes her conversation with Igor at the end even more poignant I guess? And I agree with the Anora detractors that the movie does switch to Igor’s pov for a period of time (and I can see why that would annoy some), but I think it only serves to remind us how bleak Ani’s situation has become. That even the man hired to force her to annul her marriage recognises just how unfair everything is. And I think it switches back to Ani’s pov at the exact right time it needed to. I have to wonder if a lot of the extreme Anora backlash has stemmed from the murky issues surrounding Baker and his views/politics/ special interest in poverty and sex work and the most recent discourse surrounding intimacy coordinators. I’m not dismissing anyone’s valid criticism and dislike for the film, but I do think it’s had an impact on the way people interact with the film and its themes and they already prejudged the movie before they watch it. I think that’s ultimately made for very valid, shallow arguments on either side of the debate and endless discourse that fails to address anything. A succinct, well made video essay is exactly what this movie has needed.

[@ayamutakino]

film critics are just the fucking worst, honestly. just as bad as star wars fans, james bond fans, marvel cinematic universe fans, and dc extended universe fans.

[@essies4294]

She did not pick up on the cousin in Saltburn being set up to look like a criminal by Keoghan’s mud3ring psycho character-something that was obvious in the film. I like some of her takes, but she misses all the time due to her prejudices.❤

[@lydiatingey3773]

You know this is why I couldn’t stand creative writing When I was a senior in high school because it was teaching me nothing but a constructive formula and well there’s nothing wrong with that because if you find a way to write a story that works people resonate with it it makes money then do it. But I just love how the whole vibe of this video is like sometimes you can’t tell a story that’s gonna have a happily ever after or a satisfying good ending. And the fact that ever since were really young, were kind of just wired to believe this constructive formula of beginning rising action, AK, the middle and falling action, and then the ending is usually supposed to have everything solved aka the happily ever after. But especially with this film where it’s touching on topics that are little controversial and it has to do with sex work as an example you’re not going to have a happily ever after because that’s not reality. That’s frustrated me about creative writing in high school. Sometimes you have to storytelling to bring insight into an atmosphere a lifestyle something controversial to try to shed light on how a person would get stuck in this environment or this type of work like this videos using this movie and it’s sex working for example. I really wish we could teach people future writers how to come up with their own formulas for writing that allow for deep, good plots, and characters that don’t have the traditional ending I’m starting to notice more films, not having a very traditional ending and people not taking it very well because that’s not what they’re used to, but if we could simply just teach people how to like I said, build plot, build character and then be able to write an ending that is bittersweet Storytelling would really go to a new level

[@nataliahurtado6508]

Your essay made me cry. I haven't seen the movie yet but I will.

[@HenNgTr]

Wow amazing timing, i just watched last night

[@C-uz8md]

I don’t get the criticism that we don’t know enough about her either. If you think about the most famous movies in that Cinderella trope a lot of them don’t give us a ton of backstory either. The Cinderella is usually more of an audience insert, I don’t think Anora would work as well as a commentary on that fantasy if Ani only had one interpretation. What I liked about it was how Ani unfolds throughout the movie and we get to know her slowly like you would a real human being.

[@ayamutakino]

Genre and tropes mean nothing compared to execution.

[@Gavin48]

People want to be spoon-fed

[@autumn7809]

I wasn't able to find a showing of this anywhere near me that I could actually get to. Very excited to watch it!

[@breadboard4538]

I loved Anora and agree with basically every point you make in this video. I'm kind of surprised that so many people dislike it though... Why do some of us embrace it, while others find it unwatchable?

[@ricardoms2072]

Red Rocket is such an underrated film

[@gh0s1wav]

It's his best film but that's a low bar

[@ricardoms2072]

@gh0s1wav I disagree with both opinions, but ok lol

[@essies4294]

@@ricardoms2072which one did you think was the best?

[@ricardoms2072]

@@essies4294 I personally prefer The Florida Project. Willem Dafoe is a beast in everything he's in, but Red Rocket is amazing as well

[@rudyciavarro]

love sean baker films and love your insights here on Anora.

[@liseens]

This movie really didn't sit right with me and while I don't disagree with your thoughts on it, I think what's really missing from this analysis is the very male presence of the director. All enjoyment was taken out for me once Ani gets kidnapped. There were such strange sexual undertones to the whole scene, particularly with the Igor holding Ani in what's supposed to look like sex positions. And the whole character of Igor felt like a self insert. Igor is the "nice guy" who's here to save Ani, but she's "so damaged" she can't receive his loving actions. And what was the point of the whole "i'm not a rapist" scene? Once we started seeing things from Igors perspective is when I was really icked out by the movie. If you want to make a movie about the realities of sex work and being objectified, why then center the view of the "nice guy"? I don't think this movie is terrible, but it really encapsulates the male gaze that most cinema has, and I'm honestly just over this kind of narrative. Everyone in my theatre was laughing at that kidnapping scene and I was honestly about that walk out at that point. To me that situation felt scary and to see so many people, particularly men, find that funny just felt icky. I'm just tired lol

[@MrKadirbey]

I respect your opinion, but I think you need to go out more.

[@deviantcred9951]

Like all good movies, there isn’t one way you are supposed to interpret Anora. The laughter from audiences during the home invasion scene is actually fascinating. I personally was not laughing, and was terrified for Ani thinking she was going to be SA’d, and it sounds like you were too. And trust me, a lot of audience members felt that same way. And that’s not a read in spite of the movie, that’s clearly intentionally woven. Ani starts screaming the R word, because she is scared for her safety and most likely has the life experience to know what the worst case scenario is. The movie allows you to come to your own conclusions. I personally never trusted Igor and was always on Ani’s side. I was stoked when she called him out saying he would have taken advantage of her if he had the chance. That’s exactly what I’d been thinking the whole movie. It’s also not a coincidence that many viewers feel really bad for having laughed once the movie is over. It’s a challenging movie. This is the amazing thing about good art, we can all have different interpretations/experiences consuming it.

[@liseens]

​@@deviantcred9951 I agree there seem to be a lot of different feelings about this movie, and while I really didn't like it I have been thinking about it since I saw it so there's that. While I know a lot of people disagree with me I do think there's value in trying to understand what someone is saying with their art, and to me Baker's viewpoint and way of showing that just doesn't sit right with me. I find it interesting what you said about the kidnapping scene because at least in my theatre it seemed like most of the audience found it to be a funny moment rather than scary. From the positive reviews I've read many people seem to have found it funny without there being anything traumatic intentionally interwoven. This is definitely the movie I've thought about the most this year lol

[@armouros]

hello. this exactly the very beginning credits of the movie where its all buts told me who made this movie. and was very of puting. ther was one shot where a sun flare obscured the nudity and all i could think if thay could do it for this thay could haf dun something similar for the others. despite that one shot on the couch with igor that was clerly ther to be a joke at the expence of aniy my audience did not larf out loud but ther was a nervous chuckle it did not need to be ther and would make the movey better if removed. igor definity feel like a self insert and a "not all men" yet even i fell a little when igor asked for an apology. wile not exacuted perfetly what igor represented was interesting. hopefully people will see igor unwilling to apolagise to ani as bad but most will think the justification was enuf. im now just realising ani multiple times says her chosen name is ani yet the movie title is Anora that says alot. happy new year!.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

I don’t know how many movies you’ve watched, to see people laughing at this CLEARLY comedic slapstick sequence as some reflection of their disgusting male perversion. I mean this is not Terrifier 3 or a rape-revenge or exploitation film where the entire points is relishing in torture and gore, the entire narrative is NOT centred around the nice guy nor is it minimising what Ani goes through, i mean this sequence happens and doesn’t take away the tragedy of her circumstance. I find it very confusing how that sequence is for you this epitome of sinister male perspectives, also the final convo very clearly discusses how Ani and Igor see things differently, that she frames every action of his as trying to rape and sexually assault her, because that’s all she expects him to think of her. Idk when the movie ever claims that Igor saves her???? Also how is he holding her in sex positions? I mean how would you expect someone to hold someone down to stop them from attacking/running away. Also I guess the movie seems to lean towards the fact that she’s somewhat immature, the way she buys into Vanya’s whole game and gets swept up in that fantasy. I get what ur saying but it also seems so absurd to perceive anyone laughing at black comedy or slapstick like this to be some pervert or gross person.

[@H3rmon861]

Anora is a weird movie for me because I find myself in this weird state where I feel like I‘ve seen a different movie than everyone else. Like, it’s not a case of not understanding what the movie is about - I get it and it’s actually something I was really stocked about when the first buzz around this movie started to appear. But the problem is the execution of the movie just isn’t it and I find it so strange no one is talking about it. I think the last scene is so phenomenal In it’s narration that everyone doesn’t really take the time to put it in the context of the entire movie. In other words, I sincerely believe the end of the movie doesn’t match the first act of the story. To explain myself, the movie clearly wants to tell a sort of modern Cinderella story where Anora meets this rich young guy and they fall in love, all so she can escape her circumstances and leave happily ever after. That’s what the end seems to have been a set-up for. But the entire movie doesn’t really push that narrative. From the very beginning, the rich kid and Annie have no chemistry whatsoever. Their relationship is purely transactional and at no moment does the kid try to inquire more about her as a person. They have sex and then she watches him play video game. That’s the extent of their relationship. Even the trip before their impromptu marriage is something the guy had to pay for. Considering all this, it’s very hard to have the second act pivot where Annie seems to be bamboozled by the fact that he never really cared that much about her. The entire on-screen connection they had was something the guy paid for. I think it would’ve worked if slowly she started to develop feelings for him and refuse monetary compensation just to be with him but as it stands, it feels like even her affection for him is all about the money and that ending is just her being annoyed she fumbled the bag.

[@chikayumira2329]

Yeah, I totally agree with you on that. I don’t understand why Anni is so disappointed in Vanya. There’s no moment that shows she had any real feelings for him. If she worked with men in that industry and married a rich guy for money, she should have been prepared for the consequences. Vanya doesn’t seem like the kind of man who can take responsibility for his actions at all. He just parties and plays games, never showing any care for her or even bothering to see her. I don’t get why she’s so upset about him. Maybe she’s more sad and shocked because her fairy tale didn’t come true, but that part could have been written better. Overall, I think the movie was well done and amazing, but it’s missing some subtle details to make everything feel more cohesive and logical.

[@mahmoudshaban9009]

I wanna share my opinion on what you're saying, I think all their interactions are transactional because that's all that Ani really knows, she doesn't know what it's like to have real feelings for someone, so the transactional nature of their realtionship doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings for him, the affection is there but she isn't blinded by it. Annie sees Vanya in part as an opportunity for her to have a better life, but she is so naive to understand that he's not.

[@Extracredittttt]

I disagree fundamentally. I think they do have real chemistry and I see why Ani would be charmed or infatuated with vanya. But it's not as simple as falling in love - they are not falling in love with each other - and the movie certainly doesn't try to claim this is the case the disconnect comes from the fact that both of these characters do not fully see the other person - they both exist as hopefully dream versions of each other. And the vulnerability we see blossom in Ani when they decide to get married is her willingness to drop her guard and embrace that this dream might be real and her life might be forever better. She believes that Vanya thinks she is a worthwhile person and that this fact might liberate her from the hustler lifestyle When everything starts crashing down and she refuses to believe it, she is meant to be seen as delusional. To realize Vanya is a liar and a flake is to accept that her life of toil is not over, that Vanya did not see her and that she did not see him etc etc They love the idea of each other and the experiences they have together. It's represented in how they both sort of pretend the other person's second language is good (Russian and English respectively). They ignore the red flags For Vanya this delusion is frivolous which is why he gives it up immediately. But for Ani, this delusion is everything - it is life changing. And she doesn't allow herself to feel the pain of disillusionment or the pain of being discarded like trash by someone she thought valued her until she feels truly seen by Igor She goes to have sex with him to assert some sort of power, but he seeks intimacy so he goes for the kiss. She doesn't want that and the delusion that this sex will bring catharsis breaks at the same moment the delusion of her life being changed fully breaks and she is left in devastating vulnerability and working class anguish The events of the film and what we see in her character in acts one and two *perfectly* set up the finale

[@C-uz8md]

@@Extracredittttt​​⁠I agree with all of this, their chemistry is more about the fantasy they represent to each other than actual love. After seeing how Ani is usually treated by men at the club it made sense to me that a naive childlike guy like vanya would appeal to her, especially being able to offer her this new life. And Vanya mostly just doesn’t want to grow up. Ani for him was a way to stay in NY and keep the party going a little longer because he doesn’t see her life as a real one. He always knew that when the time came Toros and his parents would be there to clean up his mess. One moment I think about a lot of when they’re negotiating the price for the first week. Ani is trying to be flirty and tells him she would have done it for cheap, and he says she shouldn’t do it for less than $10k. In the moment it’s a cute scene but in hindsight he was telling her this isn’t forever and she should get anything she can from it.

[@MrKadirbey]

I don't think Ani was ever in love with him, she just thought that finally she had an out. However, she realizes that she was just a tale in a rich boy's American trip, and she can't escape from her life.

[@BreatheForAMoment]

While I agree with what you said, Anora still did not sit right with me. I want to prefix this by saying I love Ani as a character. I latched onto her character as someone who has BPD and experiences the simultaneous need for attachment and institutionalized resentment due to my socioeconomic background. The contrast between her calculated nature and her fall into idealization due to the fantasies that had been ingrained into her by society.... was extremely impactful when taken in isolation. With that said, saying that the sex industry-an industry that is itself a byproduct of capitalism's development of patriarchal structures that serve to marginalize women through both social and economic means-normalizes self-objectification and devaluation under the male gaze is the starting point of even discussing sex work. The problem is that Baker fails to bypass surface-level observations of Anora and the environment that has institutionalized her. Humanization is a thematic tool; yet, Baker seems to think that it can serve as the entire statement. Simply viewing Anora as a human is not enough if you aren't gonna explore that humanity in any meaningful way. The film being aware of society's shallow outlook on sex work doesn't mean that it doesn't fall into the same trappings nevertheless. Ani never escapes the male gaze, despite the relative complexity that she is given. Even if that was the point, I can't say that it makes for a narrative that feels valuable in this day and age. I'm not calling for a more direct narrative because I do value Baker's oftentimes observational narrative structure. It is that the point where the film's observation comes from.... is fundamentally flawed, given the themes of the text. I'm just tired of male 'auteurs' making films about sex work/SA where the sole purpose is the seemingly humanization of their subjects without further analysis. It becomes exhausting, and this is coming from someone who considers Girl 6 to be among her favorite films lol.

[@mm39]

that's exactly what my gripe over this movie was, rlly well said!!

[@clownpendotfart]

When you say it's lacking further analysis, what are you expecting from the film? That it be an essay on Ani's work?

[@gleewhoseline198]

@@clownpendotfart That's it. They and many others expected it to a deep dive into the life of a sex worker when it was never intended to be that, it's a story that happens to a sex worker.

[@maggyfrog]

@@BreatheForAMoment despite the comedy aspect of the film, baker made the overall story realistic. if you're expecting the movie to give you a moral or to somehow berate society or to give ani some sort of happy ending that strays away from reality, you're missing the point. any happy ending for ani and igor has to look realistic, which means their prospective futures are going to just be back at the daily grind, which is to say that it's not the happy ending they are dreaming of. it's not just about humanizing characters but it's about life and how indifferent life can be regarding fairness and dreams. if this was a rom-com, we would have a different ending where igor unrealistically saves ani and they "walk into the sunset" so to speak. but the more realistic take is just that he's maybe a shoulder to cry on who will listen to her but he has no means to extract her from her socioeconomic purgatorial existence, because he is also trapped in a similar situation. what exactly do you want the film maker to do about ani's human condition? pretend that society cares?

[@manzell]

@@BreatheForAMoment sex work predates capitalism by ~8000 years or more and exists even in societies that doing use cash. Also Ani doesn't really have BPD, not by a long shot.

[@Bluebox87]

I couldn't agree more with everything you said about Florida Project/Halley. To me she is Baker's most realized character. The problem I had with Anora is that I was supposed to buy that Ani truly had feelings for this 12-year-old looking Russian doofus. Girl, you are a sex worker, I KNOW you are more savvy than that. I never bought into the fantasy or were given any reason why Ani would, either. So, in that sense, Pretty Woman's "romance" is far more organic and believable. And Pretty Woman's original ending, which Anora kinda takes and makes its own, doesn't really work. I needed to feel and believe that love/fantasy, so when the rug was pulled I would be as devastated as Ani is. So, while the final scene is great and so well-acted, it doesn't hit as hard as it should. The whole movie being this unbelivable fantasy really doesn't help. Anora is really fun and funny, but without any gravitas. So when that ending hits, as good as it is, it's just not enough. I needed more. In all of Baker's other films, you get constant insight into his character's worlds, issues, troubles, etc., without the need of any overwritten monologues. To me, Anora was lacking just that. Still, I would say it's a good film and most everyone in it is truly great. I just expected a movie on the same level as Florida Project or even Tangerine, because of all the high praise.

[@benjammin9906]

I'm not sure if you can fix it now but there's an editing mistake at 19:22 where it sounds like you were about to mention Richard Brody

[@adeotosamuel7629]

I have cycled through multiple interpretations of the ending. I initially thought Igor literally couldn't get hard, and Ani was offended that he didn't see her as a sex object, then I noticed Ani pulled back when he tried to kiss her which made me think she wouldn't let him be properly *intimate* with her, then last I thought she pulled back once he began to try to take control of the sex which reminded her of the other guys who only lusted after her, etc. etc. But ultimately, I think the outburst came out of her having the lines blurred between sex and intimacy, and how that contextualized her other sexual encounters onto that point which were likely devoid of intimacy.

[@transamination]

Final scene was excellent. Other directors/writers would have laid the 'depressed/damaged sex-worker' trope on much more heavily throughout the whole film. This was much more nuanced by having her be a confident successful stripper until she broke down at the end.

[@NinaGray-eq9on]

I thought the ending was perfect and added a lot of depth to what had gone before.

[@lauriethomas4145]

Title- brilliant!

[@ayamutakino]

When you consider that Disney forked over some of the greatest filmmakers of all time (Edgar Wright, Phil Lord & Chris Miller, for example) for their own selfish greedy reasons, then it’s not really a brilliant title.

[@amorabeau]

Great video and one of your clearest

[@artcowboy]

This is one of my favorite of your essays, so beautiful and exactly encapsulating of what I also love about Sean Bakers work, it’s amazing thank u!

[@AceOfSevens]

Re how she takes on these guys: They aren't really mob enforcers and are clearly uncomfortable being pressed into this role. Their hearts aren't in it & she is putting everything into the fight.

[@mkdugan8109]

it made no sense as someone with a past in sex work. she obviously has experience with other rich men in that area but somehow is that willing to be manipulated like that? shes so naive and seems genuinely shaken that he would deceive her even though there was every indication he would. who is anora? we know nothing about her other than she's beautiful and is a sex worker. there was zero development. vanya isnt even interesting enough to be an effective at making us hate him or resent what he represents in the story

[@user61920]

Bingo, glad to know some people actually watch movies still.

[@tz64nk41]

is there a missing line at around 19:27? Whose review are you talking about?

[@Hayzit0]

Something about Anora gives almost mirrors or reflects the story of "Sweet Charity" based on the Fellini film "Nights of Cabriria"

[@BrianKoontz2]

My problem with the heavy focus on "sex work" is that it gives up on the hope of an end to prostitution. It normalizes prostitution as work. So even if communism is created, we can just say "well, we've determined that prostitution is merely "work", no need to for it not to continue now" even after the terrible material conditions of capitalism are alleviated. Its also utterly emotionally disingenuous. No matter how hard a prostitute or stripper might try, they cannot divorce their emotions from what they are doing, and prostitution is nothing like the emotional process of most other work. The term "sex work" feels brutally opportunistic, a vicious linguistic trap that the future may heavily pay for in exchange for temporary tactical gain. The amorality of the term is completely capitalistic. If the argument is "when it comes to survival, anything goes", including sacrificing the future, we should challenge that. If the term "sex work" reflects the desperation of the impoverished themselves, then the value of communism as well as the value of the death of the impoverished have to be on the table for consideration as alternatives. Survivalism should not be the reigning ideology.

[@amaraokeke4646]

I completely agree with you. I’ve found that “sex work is work” is as far as popular analyses of prostitution go on the internet (in progressive spaces anyway). It’s a slogan that flattens nuance and produces 2 dimensional art on its way (not saying that’s what Anora is)

[@a.e.kieren7955]

Totally missed that the other woman in the house was supposed to be her sister. I just thought they were roommates that didn’t like each other

[@agraciotti]

This was the best essay about this film 👏👏

[@AkiVainio]

People who think the fight between Anora and the goons is unrealistic have not ever been in or witnessed a real fight. They are chaotic and just being willing to hurt the other party can get you pretty far, because most people don't want to do that. We can see that one party just wants to deescalate while the other (Anora) is trying to get the others away from her by any means she can come up with. Here's the thing: Most people, even the goons, are afraid of fights. I've stopped fights by just showing that I am willing to take part (while basically shitting myself at the same time). My go-to move is to make a show of taking off my glasses, which usually stops everyone on their tracks. I once stopped nine people from assaulting one person this way. I mean, they could have easily put me into a hospital, but just the idea of going against someone who is willing to fight is just too scary for most. Not that I'm advocating for this. Don't do it unless you are willing to get punched.

[@vs5133]

I'm not as in love with Baker's films because I feel if you are telling stories of people who are far lower down in the privilege chain as you, there's an inherent danger of being exploitative or out of touch with their full reality. Just proportionately giving your marginalized character good and bad traits so as to claim they aren't just a 'hooker with a heart of gold' or a 'scheming, deceptive caricature' seems like an easy copout and isn't enough to make them three-dimensional. I feel he can't just give lip service but needs to actually bring on writers from a similar background as his characters to help fully shape the extent of their complexities and put money where his mouth is.

[@H3rmon861]

Leaving another comment after watching the video: I find it weird that for a movie that say it aims to humanize sex worker, I cannot tell you for the life of me anything about Annie’s personal life. Toward the very beginning, I was expecting the movie to do something interesting where it would juxtapose Annie home life where we would see more of her personality and interest with her work life where she would put more of a show but by the end of the movie, we barely learn anything about her as a character. Hell I know more about Igor and his love of video game than anything about her. The closest thing we get is her refusal to be called Anora which seems to indicate a trauma surrounding that but it’s barely explored! I don’t know… It feels like the whole point about the movie is that the characters refuse to see the humanity in her and only see her as a sex worker. Buuut, the movie refuses to give any insight about her as a person and only view her in relation to Igor, sexually and interpersonally.

[@s.g.7572]

But don't you feel the humanity shine through just with the time we spend with her? Sure, we don’t get her hobbies, routine or backstory, but I don't think we need them as much as we need to know the way she responds to things, the way she talks, thinks she should be talked to and so on. I think including these extra details wouldn't add much to the story - I feel like I know Annie very well already just through how specific and fully-formed Madison's portrayal is and how tight the script is.

[@zainmudassir2964]

Igor is the G.O.A.T.

[@shayanahmed7132]

@@H3rmon861 Kinda agree with this point. While even Vanya's actor said he loved Ani but loved his money more, it never seems like shes actually in love with the guy. Just in love with the life she could have with him.

[@shayanahmed7132]

At the very least I wish they explored her relationship with her sister more, did they even say anywhere in the movie her roomate was her sister? She just says she has one when she talks about Miami but not that she lives with her.

[@H3rmon861]

@@s.g.7572 I mean, I agree that her portrayal by Madison conveys a lot just by her acting but I disagree that the lack of exploration of her inner life wouldn’t add to the story. Sure, on-screen, we get a sense of her superficial character trait. We know that she isn’t afraid to advocate for herself, we know she is an extrovert and she struggles financially. It’s a solid foundation to build more on to get a deeper understanding on her character. But that’s the word: a foundation. We need more for the message of the movie to truly hit. Sure I like Annie and I don’t love her character. I sympathize with her but I don’t know enough about her to truly be put in her shoes. In a story where the whole point is that the rich people don’t see her anything more than a sex worker, I think it is necessary for that tale to show her more than that what they reduce her as. It’s necessary we learn about her inner life, her habits, her insecurities, her hobbies. So the message that she is a person, just like them, and not just a plaything works. As it stands, it feels like the movie weirdly agree that she ought to be only reduced as sex worker.

[@lorcan545]

Ironically the momentum of Sean Baker’s career, thanks to some great films, has landed his latest film Anora under a spotlight it isn’t interesting enough to occupy. When he’s saying his goal is the opposite of trading in caricatures, but he must now be referring to Anora, he isn’t coming off too well.

[@gh0s1wav]

Every one of his films relies on hollow characters. I didn't realize this until I watched Anora and I literally went back and watched his whole filmography in the hopes that it wasn't true but it is. The most fleshed out character is still kind of cartoonish and that's the main character in Red Rocket. To me that's also his best movie. His second best movie is Tangerine mostly because it actually moves. His other movies are pretty to look at (except Starlet, bland ugly movie) but meanders...it's like suppose to be slice of life films but if you don't give a fuq about the characters what are we doing. Tangerine and Red Rocket are engaging simply because they have a plot to make up for the hollow characters they portray. When it comes to se*work the best movie is definitely Tangerine because it actually sorta shows what that kind of life is like. In all his other movies se*work could be replaced with any low wage job/alot of other jobs and it would still be the same movie.

[@lorcan545]

You say what are we doing here if we don’t like the characters in a slice of life movie? Honestly, I’m often very agnostic towards what I’m watching, the characters etc., but I’ll call it good if I think it works, if it seems to succeed on the terms which it has set for itself, which for a film like The Florida Project, or Fish Tank, or something, can be different to those of a more constructed story like Red Rocket. I’ve only seen the last three Sean Baker films. To critique Anora a bit further, it could have acknowledged that Russia is involved in a war at the moment. The idea that Red Rocket unfolds against Trump’s election may be very unintegrated element of the film, but at least there was an appearance of an attempt to add a layer of meaning. Sean Baker talked about a Brighton Beach set movie way back when promoting Tangerine, and it would possibly have had reference to the Russia-Georgia conflict, according to him.

[@gentity8589]

She should play the new Snow White. I still remember the line Brad Pitt say in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on her character when she with Tex and the red hair lady in the house. Cliff : "And you, Sadie, i remember your little white face." 😅

[@geniusonyeo]

🤍 I love this. Thank you for putting your time and effort into making this. This is beautiful.

[@nicanornunez9787]

I didn't even remember the florida project mom was a sex worker. The fact that I remember it as a good movie and only about poverty and the hard truths of live speaks tons about it.

[@sillybillybear50]

I feel mixed about Anora, but I really enjoyed this video essay. Thanks for the dissection of Anora and all of Baker’s films

[@hey4506]

I didn’t like Anora cause it felt too predictable that’s not a bad thing but compared to other movies that wowed me this year and consumed my thoughts this movie fell very flat to me in comparison especially cause of the hype

[@fluff975]

wonderful insights as always

[@icedoatmilklatte910]

Yes!! I’ve been hoping to hear your thoughts on this film 😆

[@sudevsen]

The ending of Red Rocket was great as well with the perfect needledtop

[@Anynom]

Well, here's a take I didn't expect but looks fun.

[@machiel5888]

2:00 Saying Igor only shows her humanity because he has a crush on her undermines the class themes of the film. Igor shows her humanity not because he has a crush on her, but because he sees her as a working class person like him. He knows that they are both only useful to powerful people for their physical traits. She falls for the cinderella story, but he knows all along that she (just like him) will only be "done" when the powerful people get what they want. In the end, Igor holds her tight to prevent her from hurting herself or him. I think Igor was attracted to Anora, but he knows she is "too crazy". He might have been interested, but I think he knows all along that they don't belong together. That's my reading at least.

[@robLis]

a beautiful video. thank you so much

[@julia.sdsantos]

really nice to hear my feelings about this movie being so well articulated in this video. sean baker has been making some really good movies

[@RoosterOfTheCity]

Appreciate you Broey. Your analysis actually made me tear up a bit.

[@alienchola]

It's so bothersome to me that "girl boss" has become this odious term. Why is it cringy and one-dimensional for a girl to be like "yasss I'm getting my bag!" Hustlers was based on a true story. Portrayed BY the woman's statements in a REAL article. Its sounds like youre saying that this edgy little director comes and gets it "right" when it comes to the stories of female sex work. I have nothing against this director or movie. But I truly cannot stand this "this movie is good and these are cringy" narrative At some point you make sure to point out that Ani isn't a girl boss. As if it's a sigh of relief. Like wtf who cares if she was or wasn't. Like stop, this is such a ridiculous way to frame why you like this movie so much. Girl boss does not immediately mean one dimensional

[@chrystals.4376]

Traditionally Fairytales didn't have happy endings, they often had unhappy and sad ones, they never had Utopian elements in the first place.

[@maggyfrog]

@@chrystals.4376 and the film could have had an even bleaker ending if there was no igor character to support her in the end. if you think about it, it's even more realistic if it ended with anora being all alone. igor i think was placed there to placate some of the bleakness

[@jojopatrice19]

Loved this take. Also wanted to add i would say the genre he's making is some form of neo-americana. make of that what you will lol

[@hibahussein4605]

Anora attempts to present a gritty narrative about the life of a New York sex worker, Ani, but fails miserably in its execution. Sean Baker’s direction feels like an insular exercise in self-indulgence, circling a superficial theme: “Not all men are bad and predatory.” This reductive message doesn’t just fall flat-it oversimplifies a complex issue, undermining the nuanced conversations it could have fostered about sex work, agency, and identity. The protagonist, Ani, is painfully underdeveloped. For a character who supposedly represents an experienced New York sex worker, Ani lacks depth, agency, and a sense of realism. The audience learns next to nothing about her past, motivations, or inner life, which leaves her feeling like a hollow vessel rather than a fully realized human being. This is particularly disappointing because the premise had the potential to explore profound themes about identity, survival, and the intricacies of sex work in an urban setting. Instead of empowering Ani or using her character to shed light on the complexities of sex work, Baker leans heavily on her sexualization. Ani is often framed through the male gaze, with lingering shots on her body that feel exploitative rather than insightful. These choices reduce Ani to an object of desire, stripping her of agency and overshadowing any chance to present her as a multifaceted individual. The cinematography, rather than humanizing her or portraying her reality, fetishizes her profession, perpetuating stereotypes about sex workers instead of challenging them. The supposed exploration of sex work as a means of reclaiming or losing identity feels like a half-baked afterthought. The film lacks the insight and sensitivity needed to tackle the systemic challenges and personal triumphs of women in this line of work. Baker’s focus on Ani’s sexuality, rather than her personhood, undermines the film’s credibility and makes it feel more like voyeuristic entertainment than a meaningful narrative. The narrative also betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Ani’s world. As an experienced sex worker, Ani should have a nuanced understanding of the risks and realities of her profession, as well as the broader dynamics of power and exploitation. Yet, her actions and reactions are naive, at times verging on implausible. This creates a disconnect between Ani’s supposed experience and the way she navigates her world, making her feel less like a real person and more like a caricature of Baker’s imagination. The supporting cast and male characters, while occasionally well-acted, contribute little beyond reinforcing the film’s simplistic moral theme. Instead of engaging meaningfully with the complexities of gendered power dynamics, Baker opts for a safe, sanitized portrayal that absolves certain male characters of complicity without genuinely interrogating their roles within a patriarchal framework. Ultimately, Anora fails to be the deep and resonant film it aspires to be. It’s a missed opportunity to amplify the voices and stories of sex workers and to challenge societal perceptions about their work and identities. By sexualizing Ani without giving her depth or humanity, the film betrays its subject matter, turning what could have been a powerful exploration into a shallow, voyeuristic spectacle.

[@CarolinaReyes-cy1zl]

Yesss! LOVE this title!❤️ Happy 2025!

[@ayamutakino]

Comparing Anora to a corporation that fucked over some of cinema’s greatest living filmmakers (Edgar Wright, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller) is indeed….a choice.

[@CarolinaReyes-cy1zl]

Anyways great thesis, Brooey👍🏽

[@alokinrainborn]

Is this on Netflix?

[@evadotorg]

30:27 I think she definitely at least WANTS to believe it, even if she doesn’t fully believe it herself

[@emilie5273]

ugh i just love this movie so much and i feel i can relate to her and how real and raw she is

[@the_cebrit_films]

This one goes directly to my favorite video-essays!

[@MrinmayChakravarty-jf4nr]

Happy new year ❤guy's hope this year brings you lots of happiness and success

[@FemaletroubleOINKOINK]

After all the chaos, shouting, and turmoil the ending was perfect. I need to let go and just cry with her. AANDD I am so happy to see Razmik and Dinah again!!!!!!

[@justinszabo5205]

great video with wonderful analysis. completely agree about baker. my fav current director.

[@tomzimny7408]

I'd like to see Anora-vs-Diamond-like exchanges between the other Disney princesses.

[@gh0s1wav]

Don't like the movie. I think it pushes the nice guy narrative and makes weird jokes that aren't funny. I also think Sean Baker creates slice of life films but with characters that have no-depth. His best movies to me are Red Rocket and Tangerine, mostly because they have a plot to drive it instead of meandering with pretty visuals about lower class individuals to the point that it convinces some that it's (fake) deep.

[@dashielakimova1342]

Pointing something out is not the same as making a point I saw many s worker say, that the worst part of the movie was about the fact that we see Anora from this voyeuristic, detached perspective - like we are just the observers, and all the movie is doing is providing this bland observing point, without actually saying that much or diving into humanity of her. And that’s exactly like that for myself I would like her being shown as a real, actual person, with lots of inner world that you can dive in, and see her as a human. But he kinda glances over it and we end up not knowing her that well actually Overall, I think more people should listen to what s workers are saying about this movie, because at the end of the day - they like no other can comment and see Anora for what she is I also hated that it turned out they had no intimacy coordinator on set - it rubs me the wrong way, especially taking into consideration the amount of s scenes and the overall plot

[@uwu-fm2kj]

Oh please the “sex workers” commenting on this are people with onlyfans, they aren’t living Anoras life

[@pigg90]

​@@uwu-fm2kj How can you be so sure? Weird generalization to make. Why do you feel the need to discredit opinions of people who claim to have an intimate understanding of the topic?

[@clownpendotfart]

@@uwu-fm2kj I do think that's a problem with a catch-all term which can obscure such differences.

[@ellebarron7112]

​@@uwu-fm2kj I think you lack an understanding of how broad only fans is and who uses it. Tons of street sex workers have used it as a supplimenting income or as a new avenue. Some people don't even post any nsfw or even suggestive. Some post nudity. Others perform sex on video and are similar to a more traditional idea of porn stars. But even with a nuance of what only fans entails, this just comes off so weird. You assume they're simply only fans creators off nothing but what I assume is you wanting to discredit them.

[@andreacinefilo]

Madison played Anora with fierce energy, but I personally found the character to be more and more unlikeable as the movie went on. First of all, I don't understand why people think this is a love story gone wrong; she never loved Ivan to begin with, she just married him for the money and for his expensive lifestyle, and he never loved her either, he clearly says to her that he wants to marry her only for the green card. Then Igor shows up, the only one that treats her like a person, yet she cruelly mocks him all the time, even using the word f****t. Even after he gives her the ring, she doesn't thank him but instead she coldly says to him "this car is very you" - "do you like it?"- "no". Why should I root for her, exactly? Also, when they're having sex in the car, Igor is forcing Anora to kiss him, pulling her head towards his, even though she's clearly doesn't want to. Very out of character for him. Personally I've found the movie to be quite hypocritical and contradictory in its message. Sean Baker has said in interviews that it's his mission to destigmatize the sex workers, representing them in a non-judgemental way. Yet, at the end of the film, Anora is sad that, after her brief Cinderella story with Ivan, she has to return to sex-working again, as if she never enjoyed doing it.

[@clownpendotfart]

I've expressed my agreement with Broey elsewhere, so I'll just discuss whether it's out of character for Igor to try to make Ani kiss him. Ani initiating sex with him is itself "out of character" in his experience, and we can assume he wouldn't have taken that action if she hadn't taken hers. To him, kissing is presumably normal when having sex with someone. It wasn't what Ani was expecting though, and this serves to illustrate their clashing perspectives.

[@originaozz]

I don't think Anora works for me without that ending. It was a fun watch before that, albeit overrun. We see Anora as a professional, a girl in love, and a beast, who slowly got beaten down by reality she refused to face. The ending is her trying to gain back control the only way she knows how. It feels so tragic that in face of sincerity, she can only put on a facade, no longer believing.

[@allaneuzebio00]

I feel like Sean Baker is a (a bit more controversial) American version of Andrea Arnold. ANORA and BIRD make a great double feature.

[@lucan9750]

@@allaneuzebio00 calling him more controversial than Andrea is a damn right offense. What are you on about Sean makes indie movies about bad people and Andrea makes revolutionary British films for the art form stop comparing Sean baker to the greats.

[@TheeArtNerd]

There were so many moments where I called back to Arnold’s film “Fish Tank” when I was watching “Anora”

[@ducky19991]

​@@lucan9750 🙄

[@jaywhangmakes]

For me, he is the American version of Hirokazu Kore-Eda.

[@clownpendotfart]

@@lucan9750 I'll take The Florida Project and Anora over American Honey any day of the week. I recall Red Road being solid though.

[@mirroredhour]

Thanks for getting it, Broey!

[@ayamutakino]

If only she got Barbie, though…. or anything by Phil Lord & Chris Miller, Edgar Wright, Sam Mendes, Lana & Lilly Wachowski, Hideaki Anno, Joel & Ethan Coen, Rian Johnson, Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, and so many postmodern/metamodern filmmakers like these geniuses.

[@clown2earth]

i'm very excited 2 check out baker's other works after watching this video! i didn't like anora, but not bc of the content, or some moral hangup, or even because of the "constant yapping", but because i found it seemed visually confused. the concept is interesting, the characters are interesting, & the performances (esp frm mikey madison) were good, but i found the film visually uninteresting. it seemed so secondary to the story that i had a hard time really engaging. while you did point out an interesting shot when vanya proposed, & personally i like the up close shot of her mouth when she's screaming in the home invasion scene, the rest of the movie was lacking those moments for me.

[@lobaetoile8440]

I'm 7 minutes in and I have decided to watch every single film this guy has ever made. Will be back after watching Anora first.

[@rosebudsavesacat]

Your videos never miss!

[@manzell]

The ending fit the character - but we had 90 minutes in the middle to explore any depth with Ani and didn't (imo, "The 3 Amigos" are the stars of the film) - and was part of an interesting story - a girl who only knows how to interact with men via fuck or fight finally, finally, finally lets her guard down and has an honest emotional moment. But we spend so little time with who Ani is that it feels less important where she's going. She's emotionally absent from most of the film; I found myself rooting for the beleaguered middle-manager Toros more than Ani.

[@fionakida]

I want to watch this so bad but I haven’t seen Anora yet so I’m going to this week so I can watch this!!🥺

[@msfthe1st117]

I liked Anora just fine, but the lack of overall depth to the character keeps that like from becoming "love". for all the film's wit, charm, its bloated 2hr runtime, it ends with very little to show for Ani's dimensions; who is she? really? is she more hustler or genuinely buying into what Vanya's affection (fickle as it is) promises? I find this video's argument against the crowd dissatisfied with Baker's film on Ani's interior life pretty disingenuous. we don't need (or want) a mega dump of exposition, a monologue, a script interrupt all about her tragic background and a sob story. because there is heavy flirtation with the day to day of Anora, especially in its early early opening minutes. I like seeing her hustle. the code-switching. molding to whatever a john might appreciate. the precarity of her situation does get outlined in sharp contrast to what Cinderella dreams of upward mobility her screwball romcom may bring. I wish that was prioritized; as the Ani of the early runtime is a different person than the one of the middle who, uninhabited by Mikey Madison, would read as thin and all over the place.

[@user61920]

Jesus you nailed it, well done. The first half is a totally different film from the second, the streetwise charming young woman becomes a naive loudmouth, she needed more nuance. I'm from the Bronx, and boy am I tired of the new york caricatures.

[@pianoman-fr5fh]

This is excellent!!

[@HdogGaming5]

If you're divided on the final scene, then you clearly don't get it...

[@user61920]

Ah yes, the ultimate argument of condescension. You're so intelligent for reading into a film that provides nothing.

[@HdogGaming5]

@@user61920 Really? Nothing? Yah you didn't get it. The ending wraps up the movie's main themes and brings us back to reality. She initiated sex because in that moment it was her immediate choice to express her appreciation through sex (it's engrained in her after years of sex work), she had been projecting her frustrations at him like a punching bag all movie long and he was aware of it and okay with it because she was going through the most by far, this pushes her to her breaking point she finally feels like she can just be herself and finally release her despair and anger and she cries and punches him. He hugs her out of mutual understanding. The film ends. It's really not that hard bro. The themes are literally everywhere.

[@Lukesmithbrfc]

I enjoyed the video Maia, like always :)

[@fineblanket]

I think her initiating sex as a transactional "thank you" in broad daylight in public is oversexualizing her character. Its unnecessary because it doesn't make sense. She already has the ring in her hand, his expectation is obviously not a sexual encounter but an act of pity. Take the ring and go. Her character initiating sex is to show what? That she has either conflated acts of kindness with transactional sex due to her being a sex worker for so long that now she can't help herself even though shes got payment up front and there's no implication? And therefore lashes out at him when she realizes? Or is it to show that she liked him all along but because of their complicated relationship, she's angry that she's been used by Vanya and Igor facilitated it in a manner? Either way, the scene is used as a way to make Ani look wayward and out of control of her own body and choices and "thank god igor is the type of white knight guy" to not take advantage of the obvious power imbalance, when in reality his character is purely being asked not to be the worst version of himself. Its exactly the way I think a man would end a movie like this.

[@lemina6180]

I don't think he gave her the ring out of pity I think he actually liked her and cared for he treated her like a human being and didn't judge her for being a sw like everyone else in the movie .you could see that in so many details like when gave her the scarf when she was cold and then he stood up for her and demanded an apology from anya. as for her having sex with him I think she finally realized that she was wrong about him (her accusing him of getting of on holding her and that he wouldn't graped her if she was alone ) that was her only way of saying thank you and she only got angry when he was calm and not doing anything and he was looking into her eyes the whole time ( which is something we never saw her do in the whole movie even with anya ) and she started hitting him when he tried to kiss her because she knew casual s*x wasn't what he wanted from her he actually has genuine feelings towards her

[@orchidcapitalofitaly9780]

I had seen her initiating sex as an indication of how she’s been treated by most of the men in her life. That most things- most acts of care or kindness from men- have been transactional. Which made me sad

[@orchidcapitalofitaly9780]

@@lemina6180this is how I saw it too

[@twix2615]

I feel like you're assuming everyone thinks and feels the same way about sex as you do.

[@NovemberFox-u2y]

I find it gross to fetishize the "real" person behind Ani. Viewing her breaking down and sobbing during sex as the truest or purest version of herself is insulting. The portrayal that her most unmasked, authentic self is tied to being in a state of ruin is pretty dehumanizing. For Igor to emphasize that he prefers Anora for her rawness and anger over Ani, creating a divide between the person and the worker, is equally disturbing. As a sex worker myself, Baker did not do a good job portraying sex work in this film. It's this very lens of 'authenticity' in a provider that drives clients in real life to pursue the same reactions and emotions, often at the expense of the provider's well-being.