Mikey Madison: "Anora"

Mikey Madison, like Emma Stone, struggled with shyness and anxiety. She tried acting as a way to confront her fears. Like Emma Stone, Madison will soon have a Best Actress trophy, an Oscar.

Madison plays Anora, Ani, a stripper who wants a different life. She lives somewhere near Brighton Beach; her roommate pesters her, in a subtle way, about buying milk. (Ani is never at a loss for a reply. "Do you see any milk? Then I guess I didn't buy the fucking milk.")

When an "escape hatch" seems to present itself, Ani just says yes. She doesn't think about what she is doing. Almost immediately, she is in over her head--brutally mistreated by a powerful man, assaulted, threatened, verbally abused. Ani pushes back; her acts of defiance are glorious to behold. But she is tilting at windmills. She has been crushed--long before she realizes she has been crushed.

I didn't expect that this movie would be so honest, and I also didn't anticipate the sneaky, breathtaking coda, a final scene that will be studied in film schools next year, and the year after, etc.

I really love this movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuPkfvxmtdw

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