Anora

An extremely well-directed indie gem with great performances. But! The editor could’ve taken one more pass. Not necessarily to reduce the running time, but to shift focus away from the mouthy gangsters, and back on to Ani, the hero. Her performance is so volatile and complicated. It’s a historically brave and vulnerable turn from Mikey Madison. The audience often realizes things at the same time that she does, and her reactions are utterly human and heartbreaking. Yet another movie that came out in 2024 that concludes with a woman collapsing and crying in a pitiful heap. I’ve asked in this space before: Hey, women! Are you okay?