By Tim Schildberger - First published in Script Magazine
Anora – winner of this year’s Palm d’Or at Cannes (the festival’s top prize) has a script that isn’t as good as it could’ve been.
Full disclosure I didn’t know about the prize until it appeared on screen. I also didn’t know what to expect, because the AMC app called it a ‘comedy’. Which it really isn’t.
But we’re not here to talk about anything other than the script…although I will say lead actress Mikey Madison is outstanding, and someone to watch.
The script…I really expected more. This is a story about a stripper/sex worker who falls in love with a rich Russian kid, marries him spontaneously in Vegas, which causes his Oligarch family back home to lose their minds. And that’s it. In a 2+ hour movie.
Despite the overly long running time – we learn almost nothing about the ‘hooker with a heart of gold’ – apart from her job, she has a Mom in Miami (this movie is set in New York), and a sister somewhere – who maybe is her roommate? Seriously – we know nothing else – apart from her time in NYC has given her a local accent that comes and goes, and she seems very relaxed and professional at her job.
Her Russian ‘husband’ looks underage – and acts it. And yet the seemingly intelligent and savvy Anora, or ‘Ani’ as she prefers…is immediately smitten…I think. Probably because of his charm, and not his riches…I think. She’s impressed by his humor before he really cracks a joke kinda smitten. Like ‘why are you into this particular guy when you see guys all day every day at your job?’
The structure of this script is simple. It relies on the charm of the leads to carry it – or maybe it’s relying on its detailed exploration of the world of the strip club/freelance sex worker. Yes, there are a lot of boobs.
Almost the entirety of the first half of this script features our ‘heroes’ falling in love. Partying, having sexy, partying, having sex, traveling to Vegas, partying, having sex, and getting married. Ah to be young and ‘in love’. Then Russian Mom and Dad find out, the US based ‘fixer’ is called in to sort out the mess – because apparently all of Russia is laughing at the Oligarch for the latest of a string of misadventure of his dumbass son. And his appeal to Ani is what exactly?
The second half is all about getting the marriage annulled, and subjecting ‘Ani’ to repeated humiliations in multiple ways. But being the strong, independent woman she is – apart from the whole falling in love and marrying an idiot after two weeks thing – she handles it all with dignity, class and a lot of yelling.
As someone who writes small, character study scripts, this should’ve been right up my alley. But there were times, especially in the second half, where scenes ran forever, and seemed to be using improvised dialogue. So much yelling over the top of one another, and repeating information and feelings. Over and over and over. I’m a fan of written dialogue – so watching these scenes felt like a massive missed opportunity.
The script does end beautifully – with a lovely little twist, and a moment of emotional honesty – which is probably why it won the fancy award.
As for the rest – I can’t help this nagging little voice in the back of my head wondering if it was so acclaimed because it takes an unvarnished and mildly titillating/exploitative look at sex work. You know how some films do well because people get to say ‘I can’t believe you went there’ or ‘the actors were so committed’, or ‘you’re shining a light on something we don’t see every day’. Instead of focusing on smart dialogue, complex characters and emotional stakes. I know this won’t be popular – but ‘Pretty Woman’ probably does a better job of all this.
It's a very ‘slice of life’ kinda script. People just being people, talking like people, wandering around like people, and doing a lot of pretty boring people things…and yes, that includes sex.
‘Ani’ I guess, is hoping her Russian child-man hero will change her life positively, and learns a lesson? I guess? But the script, or at least the improvised movie, is far too long, and genuinely dull in patches. Even the lovely final moment is a pretty ordinary, somewhat gender stereotype cliché if you think about it for two seconds.
I look forward to the days where showing pole dancing and boobs, and the transactional side of sex, isn’t enough to generate attention in a script. But then I also look forward to the days a writer and director are not the same person. This script is a great example of something screaming for an edit, and a conversation with the writer about characters and subtext, the audience experience, and not falling too in love with letting your actors ‘just go with it’ in a scene.
This is also a great example of a script where a character who is set up us as savvy and experienced, makes entirely un-savvy choices – purely because the writer/director wanted her too. They don’t feel earned, they don’t do the character justice, and again, it’s a missed opportunity. Especially with such a great actress doing such a great job.
To sum up – the script is average, the movie it okay - but I really hoped for more.
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