2025 Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee - Anora

Cathy's slightly-spoilerific Review: 

    I expected to like this movie, but the trailer jerked me around by pretending it was a comedy (the only genuinely funny scenes were in the trailer), but this was certainly was no comedy.  To quote Roger Ebert, "I hated, hated hated this movie," and I'm jealous of my daughter for noping out after the first 40 minutes.   She got 80 minutes of her life back, time that I foolishly continued to give to this steaming pile of probably incorrectly transliterated robho.* But I was in the odd position of wanting to know how it ended while resenting every minute of the ride.

    The thing is, it checks a lot of the same boxes that a good movie does: It was well-acted, the cinematography was good, and the story was well-told. But it's like they went out and found 10 of the most irritating POSs they could find (and I'm not being classist here - I hated the rich folks who produced such a pathetic little son far more than I did the stripper. She was only extremely annoying. His actions (and those of his family) are amplified by his wealth, power and abuse of the public.  

    It also was no Cinderella story - a powerless girl remains powerless.  She's annoying and brash, and stupid-yet-street-smart.  She marries the pathetic scion of Russian oligarchs, and they royally screw her. Her husband (and it pains me to award him that title) is little more than a wrecking ball, a selfish toddler in a 21-year-old body. At least Ani gives pleasure to her clients.  Vanya on the other hand is a net negative.  He reminds me a lot of Jean-Ralphio Saperstein from Parks and Rec, but without the heart.

    But it's very telling that by FAR the most relatable and likable character is Igor, the Russian hired goon who assaults Ani (he never strikes her, but he does restrain her, tie her up, and is a party to her kidnapping). Ultimately, he's the ONLY person who recognizes the wrong that was done to her, and the best part of the movie is the very end .... 

Spoilers ahead. Skip the next line if you plan to see the movie.

... when he does his best to comfort her as she finally breaks down and sobs.

Chris's review: 

    There are three exceptionally damming traits exhibited by Anora:

1. The first 35 minutes is incredibly boring, but not just boring -- boring and disgusting.
2. Every single character who saw more than ten seconds of screen time, with just a single exception, is vile to the core, and the world they inhabit would be made better by their death.
3. Smoking freaks me out, and I'm pretty sure I've never seen a movie where there was so much smoking (of various kinds). Super-gross.

    It's hard to evaluate with an open mind when you want everyone dead, but the technical aspects of the film were all well done. The acting was solid, the visuals were engaging, I didn't have any problems with the audio (though I bet it would have been uncomfortable in the theater), and the very tip of the ending was kind of a delight.

    I guess I'm glad to have gotten through it, but I certainly won't do it again, and I can't recommend it to any but the most depraved audience.

* говно: Russian for shit, bullshit, poop, turd, worthless thing, nonsense.

(Pithy Reviews; and Rankings* out of 10 nominees):

• Conclave (Absorbing conspiracy at the Vatican; Cathy: 1, Chris: 1)
• The Substance  (Excellent horror movie ruined by ending; Cathy: 2, Chris: 2)
• Wicked (Beautiful, yet boring; Cathy: 3, Chris: 3)
• Anora (Steaming pile of говно; Cathy: 4, Chris: 4)

* Rankings can change.

Unranked/yet-to-be-seen:

• Next up - The Brutalist (Jewish architect rebuilds his life in America after the Holocaust)
• Unwatched - A Complete Unknown (A biopic about the early days of Bob Dylan's career)
• Unwatched - Conclave (Conspiracy thriller while picking a new pope)
• Rewatching - Dune: Part Two (House Atreides kicks House Harkonnen off Arrakis)
• Unwatched - Emilia Pérez (Conspiracy to help a transgender mob boss disappear)
• Unwatched - I'm Still Here/Ainda Estou Aqui (A Brazilian politician's wife makes a new life after her husband is disappeared in 1971)
• Unwatched - Nickel Boys (1960s-era reform school survival story)
• Unwatched - The Substance (Beautiful horror movie ruined by ending)
• Unwatched - Wicked (Retelling of The Wizard of Oz)