Anora

just rewatched Anora and I feel like I didn’t give it enough credit the first watch. I had initially given it a 4.5 but I’ll bump it up to a 5. everything in this movie clicked more than it did last watch.  what really stood out to me this watch was how natural everything feels. nothing in this movie feels super structured or forced even. the movie has a natural flow to it if that makes sense, in a way that almost feels real rather than like you’re just watching a movie. the heavy dialogue throughout this movie definitely was a key to my enjoyment. everything felt very natural and grounded, kept the movie very engaging. in addition to this, the interactions between the characters, specifically Igor and ani as well as vanya and ani felt very real. pacing was great and kept it throughout.  ani/anora’s character was really what carried the movie and she definitely deserved the Oscar for best actress. the way her character is written as well as how Mikey Madison performs her made her feel like a real person rather than just someone in a story. it was really well performed; you understand why she does what she does, what she wants, why the way she acts, and overall just played super well.  the ending honestly is what made me want to bump up my initial rating. the ending was super powerful and I had noticed it more this watch than the last. I think the ending was her actually noticing the reality of her situation and how what she had prior is now gone and to notice how quickly it disappeared. I think also her interaction between Igor and herself was different than others in the movie as she’s not used to people, especially men, who actually want to know her deeper than superficially. it made that moment feel a lot more vulnerable to her, especially since she couldn’t just treat it like everything else she’s used to. also how she broke down at the end was really impactful, even without saying much.  overall, super great movie, definitely better on second watch. At first watch, it’s already a great movie, but the second watch made me realize and appreciate how much is actually going on underneath.