More Oscar Catching Up

Anora may have peaked too early 
for the Oscar race

The Golden Globes and the SAG nominations have upended awards season with surprises and snubs. In addition, the horrific Los Angeles wildfires have disrupted film production and forced the postponement of the Critics Choice Awards to Jan. 26 and the Oscar noms were pushed back to Jan. 19 and then again to Jan. 23. The catastrophic events have thrown Hollywood into disarray and many are questioning the appropriateness of celebrating during such a time of sorrow. I suspect the Oscars on March 2 will become a rallying cry to rebuild and carry on. Some celebs such as Jean Smart and Rosanna Arquette have called for the Oscars and the Grammys to be turned into telethons to raise money for the victims. In the meantime, I've viewed more potential Oscar contenders including Anora, A Complete Unknown, Babygirl, The Substance and The Last Showgirl. 

Like the transient, motel-dwellers in Sean Baker's Tangerine and The Florida Project, the characters in his Anora live on the edges of conventional society. Anora, a Brooklyn-based exotic dancer who falls for the son of a fabulously wealthy Russian oligarch, unashamedly pedals her body. The oligarch family and their minions operate above the law and other constraints. The difference is Anora and Igor, the hired muscle who tries to support her and is attracted to her, have a sense of honor beyond themselves. Ivan and his parents don't care who they step on as long as they get what they want. Mikey Madison is unvarnished and uncynical as the title character, fiercely believing in herself and the possibility of love in her sordid surroundings. Anora has collected numerous Best Picture awards from critics' groups and the Palme d'Or at Cannes, but may have peaked too early. Front-runner The Brutalist still has not had a wide release. Its three-hour-plus running time, weighty subject and Golden Globe Best Picture win put it at the front of the Oscar pack.