Why the Oscars Put a Ring on Anora

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In January, an Academy member shared with me that they believed “Anora” was unlikely to win Best Picture. This statement came the day following the Oscar nominations, which signified a potential roadblock in “Anora’s” ascent towards the Best Picture category. Sean Baker’s film had garnered six nominations, the maximum it could have aspired for, but fell short of the higher numbers achieved by “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez.” These films were also the main winners at the Golden Globes, where “Anora” was snubbed entirely. Eight months after its significant win at the Cannes Film Festival, it seemed that Baker & Co.’s momentum had slowed down.

However, the nominations weren’t the only factor causing uncertainty about the movie Anora. One Academy member shared their thoughts: “It’s a bit too explicit for Best Picture.” They were referring to the Academy itself, expressing that despite its liberal reputation, its members tend to have quite conservative preferences when it comes to sexual content. A comedy-drama set in a strip club, directed by someone who had never been recognized by the Oscars before, and with modest box office success? Even for fans of Anora, it was hard not to view it as an underdog, a film that might win a screenplay award but wasn’t seriously considered for the top Oscar.

In the end, Baker’s movie managed to silence the doubters and emerge victorious as the top contender in the entire Oscar race. This is a tale that showcases how the Academy is evolving, and suggests that we should adjust our mental image of what a Best Picture winner might be.

Initially, let’s go back to last May. Despite being disregarded by the Academy, Baker had already become a favorite at Cannes. “The Florida Project” premiered in the Directors Fortnight section, while “Red Rocket” moved to the main Competition. Before the 2024 festival started, there was some mention of “Anora,” but given Baker’s limited Oscar history, it wasn’t considered a likely awards frontrunner. However, after “Anora” premiered to widespread praise, critics lauded the film’s intense energy and highlighted Mikey Madison’s breakout performance. Winning the Palme d’Or from a jury led by Greta Gerwig significantly boosted “Anora.” With the Academy growing more international, it is now the Cannes crowd who set the pace for the following Oscar season. Except for something extremely unconventional like the 2021 film “Titane,” which featured car-sex, if you can succeed on the Croisette, you’ll appeal to voters. The Cannes jury endorsing “Anora” not only made it a contender but also addressed its main vulnerability. Typically, a film as boisterous and explicit as “Anora” might face difficulties being taken seriously. Winning the most prestigious award in global cinema gave “Anora” an immediate sense of prestige when it was released in the fall, making it seem more prestigious than films like “Hustlers,” which never fully capitalized on its own festival hype.

In presenting the Palme d’Or to Anora, Gerwig acknowledged its resemblance to old-school screwball comedies, praising Baker for embodying the essence of directors like Ernst Lubitsch or Howard Hawks. This sets Anora apart from Baker’s earlier works, which form an unofficial trilogy about sex work, capitalism, and labor. However, Anora is considered the most appealing to the Academy compared to his other Cannes premieres such as Red Rocket and The Florida Project. It features a more compassionate protagonist, lacking the unsettling undertones found in The Florida Project. Additionally, rhythmically, Anora differs from its predecessors; while The Florida Project is a collection of vignettes and Red Rocket is primarily a hangout movie, Anora follows a more traditional narrative structure: Girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl searches for boy, girl reunites with the boy who was there all along.

Anora had an additional advantage that The Florida Project and Red Rocket didn’t – it came after these two films. Baker appears to be older than one might expect and has a longer career behind him. His debut feature, Four Letter Words, was released as far back as 2000. However, the initial phase of his career remained relatively unknown; it wasn’t until the release of Tangerine in 2015, which gained fame for being shot on an iPhone, that he caught the attention of the wider film industry. He had always been respected within indie circles. (As Kel O’Neill, a filmmaker, once told me, “He truly is a symbol of purity.”) Three films and nine years later, he had finally established himself as a familiar name in mainstream cinema.

When viewers become accustomed to a filmmaker’s style, they tend to be more forgiving of their quirks, which can be unpredictable. For instance, the Academy initially didn’t resonate with Guillermo del Toro’s creature films or Yorgos Lanthimos’ deadpan dialogues, but then, unexpectedly, they did with Shape of Water and The Favourite. Similarly, viewers gradually adapted to Baker’s distinct filmmaking approach: his swift camerawork, his non-condemning portrayal of sex work, and his absence of typical art house sanctimony. In the movie Anora , for example, the more extreme aspects are amplified by Baker’s masterful handling of tension. The scene where the title character fights off three thugs is intensely harrowing – you can always feel that this young woman is in a dangerous physical confrontation with three large men – yet Baker skillfully relieves the tension with a humorous line or a perfectly timed reaction shot, elements that earned him the Best Editing award earlier in the night.

It’s no surprise that all the predicted winning amounts were out in the open since Anora had been generating quite a buzz heading into awards season. Given there wasn’t a film as dominating as Oppenheimer this year, Anora was almost inevitably chosen as the early front-runner. From the get-go, it appeared to be the kind of movie that would thrive under the Oscar’s preferential voting system. In today’s expanded Best Picture category, the top award usually goes to the film viewed most favorably, rather than the most impressive production. Many awards season analysts believed Anora was this year’s crowd favorite, or Miss Congeniality. This widespread agreement seemed to set in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy, making Anora the expected choice to become the overwhelming choice.

During the fall, Anora held the top spot in the Best Picture race, a position that’s often risky. Similar to many early favorites, it eventually faltered – in this case, when it failed to win at the Globes. However, that loss might have turned out to be advantageous. Whilst Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist spent January dealing with controversies, Anora remained relatively low-key, and yet it managed to maintain an underdog status in the Oscar race.

Neon made certain that the film was their top priority and carefully guided its production. In the Best Actress category, Madison conducted a winning campaign for an ingénue role reminiscent of the 2010s, when actresses like Jennifer Lawrence frequently took home the trophy. Despite having no resemblance to her character, people admired the person they encountered: a passionate young movie lover representing the Letterboxd Generation. Baker, who excelled in precursor awards, utilized his acceptance speeches to emphasize the significance of the theater release window, a topic he reinforced on Oscar night when he became the first individual since Walt Disney to win four awards in one evening. Earlier independent filmmakers on the Oscar path traditionally postured as revolutionaries; Baker positioned himself as a guardian of the art form.

fundamentally, the main factor leading to Anora‘s victory was that this year’s Oscars are significantly different from those ten years ago. Alongside films like Moonlight, Parasite, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Anora is now part of the “new Academy” selections – movies that wouldn’t have won in past years due to the Academy’s expansion following the #OscarSoWhite controversy. These four films encompass a diverse array of storylines, locations, and themes, but they all embody a sense of daring. Unlike the more traditional Oscar winners of the past, these films are raw and unconventional. Two years ago, after EEAOO won, I observed that beneath its humor about butt plugs, the film carried an Academy-friendly sentiment. Anora, however, is even less conventional as a Best Picture winner. While EEAOO concludes with a hug, Anora ends on a subdued, melancholic note that’s difficult to define – and just as hard to forget. Ultimately, the appeal of Anora‘s message and spirit overcame any potential criticisms from voters. As one Oscar strategist representing the competition told me, “This is a hopeful film. You leave it feeling optimistic about humanity.

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2025-03-03 09:55