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This week at The Tryon Theatre is “Anora,” the recent winner of five Academy awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress. This film is written and directed by Sean Baker, an auteur whose works have long offered intimate portrayals of individuals rarely the center of cinematic attention. 

“Anora” focuses on the eponymous young woman, Anora, an exotic dancer in New Jersey’s Brighton Beach, a historically Russian-American area. The actress playing Anora, Mikey Madison, is a relative newcomer on the film scene and has received great acclaim for the authenticity with which she portrays her character, showcasing an incredible range of emotion throughout the film and providing a performance without strings attached, making a human out of Anora and elevating her above a character, flaws and aspirations all wrapped in one. 

This film functions narratively in two distinct parts: the construction of a fairy tale and the painfully sincere dismantling of that glamorous dream. When the audience meets Anora, who goes by “Ani,” she works as an exotic dancer, with off-the-books services a simple element of her daily reality. In plying her trade in Brighton Beach, Ani speaks both English and Russian fluently, which is an advantage with clients and one that soon lands her in the arms of a young Russian man, the son of a wealthy gangster. 

This happenstance introduction spurs a whirlwind romance, equal parts loving fantasy and loveless transaction. As Ani’s reality faces rapid and tumultuous change, her emotional journey becomes an enrapturing portrait of a desperate and limited young woman yearning for a connection and a way out of her loop of despair. The heart of the film is this painful and tender emotional arc of Anora.

With the subject matter of this film, there should be an obvious expectation of explicit content on behalf of the viewer; however, to avoid any potential shock, a disclaimer is appropriate. In the frank portrayal of Ani’s occupation, the camera is unflinching in its gaze with respect to both nudity and the act of sex itself. This is not to say that the camera necessarily sensationalizes these elements, but rather, in its even-handedness of depiction, the film does not hold back in its portrayal of graphic content. Any viewer with a low tolerance for these more sexual cinematic elements may not find this film their cup of tea. At the same time, one should not write off this film for the stark gaze of its image. 

“Anora” is so much more than a reduction to its risque elements, those are simply in service of the searingly earnest exploration of Ani’s world. These are inseparable elements of her practical life that inform the emotional makeup of her unique story, the true focus of the film. 

We hope you all will join us for this year’s Best Picture winner, and we hope even more that you, to,o will find yourself celebrating the same merit that the Academy saw fit to award. But of course, for any filmgoer who knows their taste and would prefer to take a pass, we, in turn, will not pass any judgment. 

For your information, this film is rated R. We will not be able to let patrons under 17 in without explicit accompaniment from an adult guardian 25 years of age or older.