Saw it tonight, and for me this is easily one of the best movies of the year.

That said, as a Sean Baker (writer/director of Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) awards play, it's certainly not for everyone. But for those into this sort of thing - basically Pretty Woman meets Uncut Gems, featuring a ton of drug-fueled sex and hijinks - I think you'll really dig it, as it's Baker's best movie by far, IMO, one that's both hilarious at times and heartbreaking (and more "masculine" than either trailer below portends - this is definitely no chick flick, and veers more Safdie Brothers in the second half). At 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's also a Best Picture contender, while the lead, Mikey Madison (Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, the Scream franchise) is a lock for Best Actress nominee, if not the current front-runner.

It's only in super-limited release this weekend, expands a bit more next weekend, but then should go fairly wide on November 1st. Again, if this looks to be in your wheelhouse, definitely give it a shot, as you're going to be hearing a lot about it over the next five months, in the lead-up to the Oscars...

Anora
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28607951/
October 18, 2024
Theatrical Exclusive

Sean Baker’s ‘ANORA’ is on track to earn the second-best opening theater average post-Covid, with an estimated $600K+ from only six theaters.

This also marks the best opening per-theater average for any film this year. pic.twitter.com/DdSQyukbPJ

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) October 19, 2024

I've never seen this happen, but super cool that she took the reigns and still went through with it...

Mikey Madison, what a trooper. Just saw her give a post-ANORA Q&A where the moderator was a no-show. So she self-moderated the whole thing and had really thoughtful and interesting answers to every question. Super cool and man, what a phenomenal film! Oscar worthy for sure. pic.twitter.com/gesppk0Znr

— Danny Baram (@DannyBaram) October 21, 2024

As of today, Anora is now playing wide, in cities like College Station.

It's still one of the best movies of the year, and the more time has passed, the more I love it. In fact, it'll probably be in my top five here in a couple of months, when all is said and done.

Curious to hear what others eventually think.

Will try and catch this one over the weekend. Have to see Heretic as well.

Not playing at my theater for some reason. Watching Heretic tonight instead.

Dang.

Seeing Heretic tonight as well at the Alamo Drafthouse.

this movie was wild. Im not sure what to think of it. I liked it, but it was different. If you like boobaloobs, youll enjoy this one.

That was hilarious, but about 30 minutes too long. The last few scenes went on forever. And a weird way to end it.

Yeah I felt the search for the lost dude went on way too long.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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That was hilarious, but about 30 minutes too long. The last few scenes went on forever. And a weird way to end it.

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Man, I loved those final scenes so much. Off beat for sure, but they bring the whole thing together, IMO.

Trailer looks terrible.

Is this just another in a long line of movies that wildly mischaracterizes what the life of the typical hooker is actually like, making them look like empowered women instead of what they actually are - poor and addicted women exploited by men, made into a consumable product and robbed of all life and vitality?

It is very much not the first.

I get what they were going for for sure, just not sure we needed 5-10 minutes of dialogue about their bad accents and why he wouldn't rape her.

I will say, the main Armenian guy and the guy who's nose she broke stole the movie for me. Both were hilarious.

I laughed out loud multiple times and always at their scenes.

"I don't have Instagram, I'm an adult."

"TikTok! Instagram! TikTok! Instagram!"

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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It is very much not the first.

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Glad to hear it!

fat girlfriend said:

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Trailer looks terrible.

I'm sorry you feel that way. That said, again, the movie itself currently has a 97% critic score and a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. In other words, the vast majority of audiences love it.

Is this just another in a long line of movies that wildly mischaracterizes what the life of the typical hooker is actually like, making them look like empowered women

Sure, most of the movie is fun, hilarious, manic, energetic, etc, but in no way does it glamorize the stripper lifestyle or sell an a "empowerment" narrative.

instead of what they actually are - poor and addicted women exploited by men, made into a consumable product and robbed of all life and vitality?

Re: the aforementioned final scenes mentioned above definitely touch on this in a way. It's a sobering ending in that regard, but one I found to be incredibly poignant/touching as well.

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Didn't mean to do the laugh/cry emoji.