Ani, Are You OK?

Anora (Sean Baker, 2024)

Despite all of its acclaim, Sean Baker's debut film Tangerine (2015) was a disappointmet to me. It was enough to put me off checking out his subsequent films. That was until Anora (2024) came along this year. The change of heart wasn't brought upon by it winning the coveted Palme d'Or this year (who honestly gives a f**k?), nor was it because Baker proved to be a one of us with his visit to the Severin cellar; instead it was largely due to Mickey Madison getting naked in it. Therefore, imagine my surprise when Anora turned out to be a legitimately great film and far more accessible than his debut. 

Anora's premise is essentially a crash and burn Cinderella story, where Mickey Madison's titular character, largely addressed as Ani in the film, is a spirited New York sex worker of Russian descent, who meets her Prince Charming in the form of the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, Ivan (Mark Eidelstein), nicknamed Vanya. Her beauty and his money equates to the pair hitting it off and banging like bunnies. The whirlwind romance eventually leads to them getting hitched in a Las Vegas chapel. Classy! This in turn leads to Vanya's parents and handlers enforcing their powers over the newly weds.

Structurally, Anora's three acts represent a fantasy romance soured by reality. The first gear change is when Anora is forced to help the oligarch's Armenian goons in tracking down her absconded husband. It's at this point where we're introduced to Igor (Yuriy Borisov), the young Russian heavy, who might be the purest soul in saga. The third act represents Anora coming to terms with what she knew all along about her spoilt man child of a partner, along with the eventual face-off with her domineering, plastic surgery nightmare of a mother-in-law; essentially the film's matriarchal villain. The ordeal is bitter for our young protagonist. Anora is a film where you can predictably guess the final destination, but the journey there is what makes the whole experience so mesmerising.

Mikey Madison's performance is incredible. She paints her character with a battle hardened veneer, but there's a hidden side which fleetingly betrays her fragility within. It's often juxtaposed with her being so sexually confident and carefree on the outside, but there are moments of tenderness and weakness when she's alone on the screen. Which ultimately leads to the film's unforgettable conclusion. Borisov also manages to subvert by initially coming across as the typical Russian heavy you might witness in STV tier actioners, and yet, he is the most sympathetic to Anora's plight. Also, Karren Karagulian's Armenian goon Toros is a major source to much of Anora's second act coming across as a screwball comedy. This is a complete contrast to the more serious nature of the film's plot at that point.

Both wildly funny and tragic at times, Anora's kinetic energy and palpable atmosphere contribute to a fresh paced and deeply engrossing film that make its long arse run time (around two hours and twenty minutes) whizz by. Vanya's super-rich lifestyle and the eventual comedown is reminiscent to the outlier worlds of Martin Scorsese's questionable protagonists; another element to the film's draw. This is all cohesively gelled together via Mickey Madison's outstanding performance; undoubtedly one of the best this year. It's also the only film (out of three appearances) where Madison isn't set on fire.

Glad I gave Sean Baker another chance as Anora proved it wasn't the dreaded tart-with-a-heart rom-com, à la Pretty Woman (1990) that I expected. What I got was essentially a crushing take on the pursuit of the American Dream and those who fall victim to it. Remarkably, Anora also happens to be an unexpectedly entertaining comedy, so think of that what you will. 

A genuinely great film, and probably the final high note of 2024.

Foul Feet Smell Something Horrible

Carry on Screaming! (Gerald Thomas, 1966)

Two era defining institutions in British cinema that happen to be favourites for your host are Hammer Film Productions and the Carry on... franchise. Peter Rogers, producer of the latter, would often release films which would parody popular trends at the time, and in the mid-sixties, Hammer's sumptuously colourful gothic horror films were ripe for some lampooning. The result would be Gerald Thomas helming Carry on Screaming (1966), arguably the best film from the beloved film franchise.

With the absence of the legendary comedic actor, Sid James, a leading and highly charismatic fixture in the majority of the Carry On... films, the role of the lead, Detective. Sgt. Sidney Bung, was offered to Harry H. Corbett, better known as playing one half of the rag 'n' bone collective in the classic British sitcom Steptoe and Son (1962 - 1974). Corbett wasn't the only actor making their one and only appearance in the franchise as the role of Valeria Watt, the vampish femme was played by the smokey voiced Fenella Fielding. Both of their debuts was such perfect casting, you would probably be shocked to learn they weren't first choices originally. Of course, the supporting cast, comprised of regular Carry on.. luminaries such as Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Joan Sims, Bernard Breslau and Peter Butterworth. Along with those actors, there are also scene stealing cameos from Charles Hawtrey and Jon Pertwee.

Visually, the film captures Hammer's gothic eye candy with acute perfection. The set locations like the Watt's Bide-a-Wee Rest Home and its surrounding woodland area, look they could have come from Terence Fisher's Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966) which was also released in the same year. Along with the costume and prop department also following through with replicating Hammer's distinguishable aesthetics and you have a film that perfectly executes in its design brief. Outside of the comedy, the only real distinguishable difference is the absence of any Kensignton Gore.

Considering it throws various features such as Frankenstein's monster type missing links, an Egyptian mummy, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde potions, a House of Wax style theme and various other elements into the mix, you would be forgiven for thinking that Talbot Rothwell's screenplay might have been a complete mess on paper, but it all gels together superbly well on-screen. It also helps that the humourous dialogue is penned better than any of today's overrated film comedies. One example is this exchange between four of the film's characters which is pure poetry to your host and why Talbot Rothwell’s scripts ought to be taught in English Literature classes to the masses:

Det. Sgt. Bung: A young lady has disappeared and we're anxious to trace her whereabouts.

Dr. Watt: Oh? Whereabouts?

Det. Sgt. Bung: Hereabouts.

Albert Potter: At ten o' clock.

Det. Sgt. Bung: Or thereabouts.

Constable Slobotham: In this vicinity.

Det. Sgt. Bung: Or roundabouts.

Constable Slobotham: We're police officers.

Albert Potter: Or layabouts. 

 

Absolutely love the scene where Harry H. Corbett and Peter Butterworth as the bungling police officers attempt to put the various clues together and produce one of my favourite lines in the film.

The Carry on... films might be seen as dated and problematic today, and as such, they’re often treated as guilty pleasures or mistakenly overlooked for lacking any intellectual or artistic merit. Carry on Screaming proves its naysayers wrong for the reasons already stated. The only guilt I've ever felt over the film was the error in forgetting to include it in my Desert Island Blu-Ray Discs post. Carry on Screaming! is a certified classic in British film and ought to be given the credit it truly deserves.