Anora

After Anora won five Oscars and I finally connected Mike Madison to Quentin Tarantino, I had to pay five bucks and rent the damn thing. A freaking euro for each Oscar.

The buzz around the movie started so long ago that I almost didn’t pay it any attention anymore, and since today, I can’t stop thinking about it. Incredible performance that reminded me so much of Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted—weirdly enough, both winning their first Oscar at 25, Mike 25 years later. So, the new Angelina Jolie is here. And she talked about her brothers in a much more friendly way than the original. I see a pattern, Hollywood. And I also see that such a real, down-to-earth story received the recognition and love it deserves. 

After Mike pierced my cold heart with her magical shyness while receiving her Oscar, I was absolutely amazed by her performance and realness in Anora. I say Mike because I feel like I know her for some reason.  I thought I knew that person. I thought I had been that person. Her struggle to get on top of life—only for life to knock her down every time she caught a break—is something we can all relate to. I mean, the people who don’t travel on private jets and whose parents didn’t secure for them.

I didn’t expect that turn in the movie, where the spoiled, ugly-ass rich Russian kid would just fly away and disappear, even though it was written on the walls. She didn’t see it coming either. And it was so freaking incredible to witness that subtle connection between the people working for and attached to these despicable rich bastards while still acknowledging their dependency. I saw these powerful moments not only between Igor and Anora but also with the others. It’s like they saw each other, and because of their struggles, they shared this invisible force of respect and understanding, which I always appreciate.

I laughed several times—because of the dialogue, the snappy jokes sprinkled throughout this tragic failed attempt to secure her own life and escape the work Ani pretends to enjoy so much. Anora is a girl who knows how to play life as long as life lets her, but life just wasn’t having it. And she finally realizes her failure in the hands of Igor—who, because of my freaking prejudgment, I thought was a hired killer sent to murder the rich family. He didn’t, but he definitely exuded that energy. He understood what power did to the people around him and how unfair it was to Ani.

He fell in love with her because he respected her game—her will to go the extra mile to secure a future. She was ready to love in that safe space that money provides. The freedom just to relax and enjoy life for once without struggling to make ends meet.

And the movie really explores the vicious problems of both the rich and the poor—how rich people’s problems kind of solve themselves with the help of minions, while the less fortunate can’t just escape.

I really hated that kid. He reminded me of Kathy Griffin—my fallen favorite comic—who started a brand-new show on YouTube, and one of her first sentences was that she flew private. I immediately disliked the channel and left her to do her thing. I know she flew private, but bragging about it in this climate, in this world moment, feels so tone-deaf that I saw right through her. She can suck it. Enough about her.

I loved Anora. And what an incredible achievement for Mike Madison—a freaking Oscar at 25. And to come from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where she was hit and beaten to death.

A star is born.

Iliya Badev