Anora

God, I love you, Mikey Madison. I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about the plot or the characters, and honestly, that’s the only right way to approach this movie. The first few scenes did nothing to prepare me for the sheer insanity that unfolded later on. In some ways, I hate to admit this, but I relate to Anora. Her only understanding of "love" is transactional—her body as currency, affection as a trade-off. And when she meets her so-called prince charming, like every fairy tale before her, she believes she’s finally found her way out of the life she’s desperate to leave behind. But unlike fairy tales, real life doesn’t always promise a happy ending. Throughout the movie, I never expected to appreciate the relationship she had with Igor, yet here I am. He offers her a kind of love she’s never known. One that doesn’t view her as lesser, as disposable, like Ivan and the rest of his family do. He sees her as a person, something she’s never truly been allowed to be. And that ending? It left me sitting there, hollowed out, not knowing how to feel.