48/11
Tale
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch
Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.. Karren Karagulian has been in all of Sean Baker's films, and this is his biggest role in any of his films.. In a Vegas scene, a character refers to "McCarran Airport." While the international airport in Las Vegas had been known as McCarran International Airport for many decades, its name was changed to Harry Reid International Airport in late 2021.. Igor: PLEASE!
Referenced in Close-Up: Anora (2024)
STOP! SCREAMING!. Daddy AFWritten and performed by Catherine Slater (aka Slayyter). We're all familiar with the old adage that, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
But achieving that goal ultimately proves more difficult than imagined
It's a notion that applies not only to what can happen in everyday life, but also to what shows up on the big screen, as the latest feature from writer-director Sean Baker illustrates. This widely acclaimed indie offering follows the misadventures of a Brooklyn lap dancer/sex worker (Mikey Madison) who falls for the insanely rich, self-absorbed, wildly irresponsible son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). Together they take the plunge into an edgy, wacked-out fairy tale, a dark storybook romance strung out on steroids, quaaludes and crack. Their whirlwind affair soon lands them in Las Vegas, culminating in a green card wedding that junior's mobster parents (Darya Ekamasova, Aleksey Serebryakov) want canceled at any cost, even if it means calling on their oily, bumbling posse of cronies and heavies (Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Yura Borisov) to lean on the alleged lovebirds.
To be sure, there is some genuinely hysterical, wonderfully inventive material here, but it only hits the mark about half the time
As a cross-country chase ensues, a string of frenzied events leaves mom, dad and friends infuriated and the Gothamite Cinderella disillusioned, having erroneously thought she'd truly hit the jackpot this time. From this, one might easily think this premise has a solid foundation for an outrageous, uproarious comedy, but, sadly, the film lives up to its potential only some of the time. What's more, much of the story (especially in the film's first half) is predictable, almost clichéd, with some bits dragging on needlessly long. Indeed, I'm somewhat mystified as to what all the critical fuss is about, something perhaps best evidenced by the picture's capture of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the event's highest honor.
But I'm genuinely at a loss to understand the level of praise that's been lavished on this release
I readily admit to being a fan of Baker's work, having immensely enjoyed his previous efforts "Red Rocket" (2021), "The Florida Project" (2017) and "Tangerine" (2015). It's a capable film in a number of respects, but the filmmaker clearly has done better, and those prior offerings make better viewing options in my opinion. Don't fall for all the hype here, as this really is one of those cases of something being too good to be true.
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