Friday, October 25, 2024

Weekend Screen Scene - Anora

While I've definitely enjoyed Sean Baker's movies, I don't think I've adored his work as much as many critics seem to; they always just miss the mark of excellence for me. For instance, I thought The Florida Project was marred by the performances of its non-actors, and Red Rocket was about 20 minutes too long.

Anora is probably my favorite film of his so far, elevated by Mikey Madison and her electric performance as the titular Anora, a twenty-three year old exotic dancer and sex worker in New York. One night, because she is the only dancer in her club who speaks Russian, she is encouraged to chat up a young Russian named Vanya, played to perfection by Mark Eidelstein. Vanya takes a liking to "Ani," ultimately paying her for sex, inviting her to his New Year's Eve party, and eventually offering her $15,000 to be his girlfriend for a week. That week leads to a Vegas marriage, which Vanya's oligarch parents back in Russia are none to happy about.

Anora feels almost like three movies. The first third is a fun, gritty take on a Pretty Woman type of story, a whirlwind of sex, drugs, parties, and lavish spending that's intoxicating to watch. The middle third, which brings in Russian and Armenian goons (all excellently played by Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and especially Yura Borisov, as Igor), feels like something from a Safdie brothers movie, a tense night full of potential violence as characters visit multiple New York locations. And the final third brings this Cinderella story to a realistic finish, with a final scene that brought me to tears.

Anora is a movie with faults, but every single performance in it is outstanding, making it easy to overlook some of the story's repetitions and weaknesses.

Friday, October 11, 2024

Weekend Screen Scene - Saturday Night

Saturday Night is a behind-the-scenes drama about the 90 minutes leading up to the 90 minute premiere of Saturday Night Live (then, just Saturday Night) on October 11th, 1974. The story centers on Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) as he scrambles to get the bloated premiere down to a reasonable number of sketches and performances, deals with temperamental talent, and continually answers the question from the network execs "what is this show??" with, essentially, a shrug and a "wait and see."

And therein lies the biggest problem with Saturday Night, the movie: it centers on the man who was probably one of the least interesting people in that studio that night.

Of course, all the well known Not Ready For Prime Time Players make an appearance, with Cory Michael Smith's turn as a smug Chevy Chase and Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris being the most impressive. (The irony that this version of Garrett Morris plays a bigger part in the fictionalized story of the premiere than the real Garett Morris did in the actual premiere is not lost.)

Guests on the show that night included George Carlin (Matthew Rhy) as the host; Billy Preston (Jon Batiste) and Janis Ian (Naomi McPherson) as the musical guests; Andy Kaufman; and Jim Henson's Muppets. But do NOT ask me why Nicholas Braun, the tallest actor alive, plays both Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman.

Watching the mercifully short movie play out, I kept pondering if anyone who has no idea about the history of the show would have any interest in this story, when I, someone who is pretty well versed in the history of the show, could only find mild entertainment in the various "impersonations" that were parading in front of me.

It all feels like a 90 minute build up to the good stuff, which never comes, unless you go home and watch that premiere episode (available to stream on Peacock, along with all 50 subsequent seasons). And it left me questioning director Jason Reitman's choice to champion someone for having a "vision" when that person's constant answer to the question "What even is this show?" is essentially "I don't know."

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Weekend Screen Scene: Hold Your Breath

A few weeks back saw the release of Never Let Go, in which Halle Berry plays a possibly insane mother who is doing her best to protect her two children from a potential horror outside their remote cabin. This week brings us Hold Your Breath, in which Sarah Paulson plays a possibly insane mother doing her best to protect her two children from a potential horror outside their remote cabin. Brat Summer is over! It's time for Unstable Autumn!

Unlike Never Let Go's vaguely futuristic setting, Hold Your Breath is set during the dust bowl of the 1930's, and its potential horrors are multi-fold. It's the dust itself, both the cause and result of dried out crops, as it seeps into the home, causing illness. It's the "grey man," which may be a nothing but a spooky story, or may be what's actually hiding in all that dust. It's the "drifter," a man who claims to be a healer, but may be something worse. And it's mama, who has a history of doing dangerous things in her sleep.

Obviously, there's a lot going on in Hold Your Breath, and that's both what keeps it watchable, and makes it frustrating. Paulson holds it all together with her anxiety-inducing performance as the mom slowly losing her grip on...everything, and the supporting cast, including The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the drifter, are excellent. Directors Karrie Crouse and Will Joines master the dusty visuals, which may have you instinctively reaching for an N94 mask. It's not the most original of tales, but as far as streaming entries in Unstable Autumn go, it's worth a watch.

Hold Your Breath is now streaming on Hulu.