This noteworthy success of the film in theatres globally confirms a sustained trend in cinema which has become almost a global phenomenon: The trend of an increasing base of an audience which does not value ‘intimate’ or ‘intense’ experiences in films. For this audience, ‘understanding’ a film is a barometer sufficient to pronounce a verdict about the film. In this way, this audience has reduced the whole journey of watching a film to an ‘intellectual exercise’ rather than an ‘experience’, which is the vital criterion in evaluating a film’s worthiness.
This aspect is amply reflected in the film Anora (2024). The film is about a sex worker (named Anora, played by Mikey Madison) who harbours unrealistic expectations from a spoilt and hedonistic son (named Vanya, played by Mark Eydelshteyn) of a rich and influential Russian family. In an on-spur-of-the-moment decision, they get married. Harsh realities emerge. The might of the rich Russian family prevails. Anora is forced to divorce Vanya. And Vanya who has ulterior motives behind the marriage deserts Anora.
This plot has borrowed certain core elements from the film Pretty Woman (1990). The only obvious and prime difference is Anora (2024) does not have the fairy tale ending of Pretty Woman (1990). But what Anora (2024) falls short of is achieved in Pretty Woman (1990) considerably and successfully: An Emotional Depth and Experience.
The story of Anora lacks sufficient emotional moments which fail to trigger neither sympathy nor empathy for her in a viewer. This is because there is very little in her character which makes one sympathetic or empathetic towards her. If a viewer feels sympathetic or empathetic towards her then the genesis of sympathy or empathy is connected to her identity as a sex worker and not to her personality. This sympathy or empathy is likely to be more of an ‘intellectual exercise” as Anora could be seen through the template of stories of sex workers available through films and real-life.
In the film, Anora comes across as a professional who has accepted prostitution as a means to make a living. She faces challenges and discrimination like most sex workers. In fact, like most sex workers she is considered to be a pleasure-providing machine. But she has passed the phase of being naïve and idealistic about these unpleasant truths. Though she may have a murky and problematic past, her demeanour lacks the essential thing which makes a viewer root for women like her: Emotional Vulnerability.In Pretty Woman (1990), Vivian (played by Julia Roberts) is a woman of certain principles. Though she is a sex worker, she has not lost a certain degree of heart-melting charm, endearing naivety and an otherworldliness which goes beyond the trappings of a hedonist mind. She acknowledges the humanness of a person. She wants others also to acknowledge her humanness which goes beyond her identity as a sex worker. This is fairly evident in her no-kiss principle with her clients. She knows that a kiss is a special expression of love whose foundation is not ephemeral and dehumanising carnal desires but a calming force which transcends deep subjectivity and acknowledges the bare humanness in a person. She is more like a lotus in a muddy water. This aspect in her affects a viewer.Anora, on the other hand, triggers and appeals to those darker aspects of human consciousness which rob an individual of peace, clarity and strength required to live a meaningful life. When Vanya calls her at his mansion, she is more than willing to offer her. There is not a moment in the film which shows that she is looking for an emotional connection or a conversation which goes beyond the confines of dehumanising sex. In fact, there are contradicting elements in her which are striking in nature. If one considers Anora a more practical and clinical version of Vivian of Pretty Woman (1990), then how come she pins hope of a long and enduring marriage to a spoiled brat (Vanya) whose sole interest in her is restricted only to her body and his pleasure.
There is not a single moment in the film which shows that Vanya is interested in her as a person. He is not interested in knowing her likes and dislikes and her worldview in general. This behaviour does not irk, bother, upset or hurt her. In fact, as a viewer one is faced with a key question: Where are the moments in the film which lead to the formation of a bond between Anora and Vanya? Their engagement (not relationship) hardly transcends the carnal plane. Anora is so focused on seeking his family’s approval to the marriage and legally establishing the marriage that she forgets that between the family and the law it is Vanya’s heart which will save her marriage. There are hardly any moments which indicate that they are mildly interested in knowing each other.
There is a certain degree of entitlement in the way Anora behaves. Does she think that the bitterness triggered in her by the injustices of the world warrant this kind of behaviour? She knows that the marriage could be her last chance at escaping from the dehumanising life of a sex worker. What is worth noting is Anora is not even shocked when Vanya runs away after the henchmen arrive at the mansion. She looks shattered. One wonders: what shatters her more: the deserting of Vanya? or Her inability and incapacity to establish her legal marriage to the henchmen in the absence of Vanya? This triggers a thought in a sensitive viewer: Is Anora more interested in the wealth and luxuries the marriage with Vanya can provide?
A viewer hardly feels any presence of trust and love between them. Can debauchery and hedonism make up for tender moments which establish a bond between a man and a woman? In fact, a sensitive viewer is compelled to think whether “betrayal” is the right understanding of Anora’s plight when Vanya deserts her.
In a sharp contrast to this, there is a heart-touching chemistry between Edward (played by Richard Gere) and Vivian in Pretty Woman (1990). There are moments in the film which show how they both improve and make each other better in life-altering ways. Vivian teaches Edward that happiness lies in small moments and not in grand adventures of life. She feels his sensitive and protective side. She falls for his openness to admit his mistakes and willingness to show, feel and express his sensitive side to her. He moulds her and that moulding is nothing but shaping and polishing what is already dormant in Vivian. She teaches him life. There is an interesting piece of wisdom she unknowingly throws at him: So, you don’t build or make anything? This thought changes his whole approach to his life. She makes him a beacon of optimism as he wants to build businesses rather than splitting and selling businesses in parts. In fact, he goes to the extent of telling Vivian that he will never treat her like a prostitute.
The film’s closing dialogue itself encapsulates what they end up achieving in their relationship. Edward asks her: What happens after the knight rescues her? She replies: “She rescues him right back”. In these moments, their relationship blossoms and acquires a certain emotional depth. These moments show that the relationship between them is mutually benefiting and not parasitic and opportunistic in nature. The journey of Vivian’s character is so emotionally fascinating that it makes a viewer believe that even if Edward would not have proposed to her, Vivian would have become something or done something in her life. Vivian’s positivity is so infectious that her friend leaves prostitution and ventures into beauty business.
These positive and emotional elements are starkly missing in Anora (2024). Oddly enough, the glaring lack of emotional moments in Anora (2024) has not bothered its audience which has made the film a thumping success in theatres globally. Perhaps, this audience relied more on their intellectual understanding of the plight of sex workers rather than the film’s capacity to provide a highly emotional experience. This has been a rising trend across film industries in which such audiences engage in “meaning making” of a film rather than valuing “emotional experience” of the film.
But when a film offers a highly emotional experience in an overpowering manner and affects an audience emotionally, the film receives more love than the film which works on an intellectual level and fails to provide a strong emotional experience. A case in the point is the extraordinary box office success of the studio-backed Pretty Woman (1990). On a budget of $14 million, the film collected $463 million in theatres globally, fetching 33 times the money invested in the film.
