11 Comments

Sean Baker is a great and humane artist. His film "Starlet" is one of my all-time favorites.

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Is your closing line a subtle endorsement of JVL’s most recent Triad? I’m sure gonna read it as such ;)

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He phrased it slightly more aggressively than I might have. But I am with him in spirit.

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so many in this lost space

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Quibble: review says "trio of Armenians", but it is very pointed that Igor is Russian and is sort of laughing at the Armenians, while being the most effectively violent and oddly sympathetic from the beginning.

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smdh all these eastern European sorts blend together for me

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Nov 8Liked by Sonny Bunch

Loved your review. My heart broke for Ani, having known other women, and in my youth, having lived on the fringe and part of a subculture as well. That moment at the end seemed like her 'moment of clarity' much like an alcoholic must have to seek recovery. That movie was enthralling and Mikey gave a brilliant performance.

Years of wisdom, decades of sobriety and much more productive choices have led to a good life and opportunities to hold space for others that wrestle with choices and consequences. I have a special place in my heart for women like Ani and other lost, beautiful souls, just trying to find their way in this cold hearted, messy world. So I embrace movies like this that affirm their dignity and humanity.

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The ending is so good, and so interesting. I didn't want to get into it for spoilery reasons, but I think it's important that the movie both begins and ends with a lap dance, and her reaction to the last one just demonstrates that clear-eyed sympathy I was writing about. Baker is absolutely committed to capturin the humanity of these people, but he is far more critical of their life choices than I think most people allow for.

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Nov 8·edited Nov 8

First read about "Red Rocket" here years ago, and we were finally able to watch it a few months ago. Wife and I still talk about it. Throw a word out for how promising Suzanna Son (Strawberry) is. She is the only--and I mean the ONLY--thing that is good about The Weeknd's hideous HBO show.

We'll definitely watch "Anora" as huge fans of "Better Things" and any episode of SVU that veers into those dastardly Brighton Beach Russians.

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Hey, I've read a couple of your reviews... Where/how to find these movies would be helpful. Distribution, release dates, etc.

Thanks

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ANORA is expanding to 1,100 theaters or so today, I think. But I always recommend folks have JustWatch.com on speed dial, which is the handiest way to find where something is.

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