Anora: WTF?

Something called Anora is nominated for 6 Oscars, including Best Picture.

I don’t get it. Everyone in this film is wretched, except perhaps one Russian criminal flunky. It’s the story of a stripper/prostitute who tries to achieve a “Cinderella ending” with a very immature Russian mobster’s son.

She treats sex as transactional and is exactly as miserable as one would expect from living that kind of life. I guess there is supposed to be some mild moment of catharsis at the very end for the lead character, but you won’t want to slog through the required 2 hours of awful and gratuitous on-screen behavior to get to it.

As we were watching the film, my wife and I kept remarking that each scene is at least twice as long as necessary. This film is a painful ride. I recommend staying off of it.

That said, how on earth is it a favorite to win Best Picture? What am I missing about the direction, screen play, and editing that merit Oscar nominations? Why did it win so many of the industry awards leading up to the Academy Awards?

Perhaps one of you fine folks can educate me. What am I missing? Until then, I’m just gonna be sitting here like Tom Hanks in Big. I don’t get it.

Naturally,

Adam