It's not always clear why performers get nominated for supporting roles in films. Major star turns are more obvious. Featured players, not so much.
I think in the legitimate cases -- not those overly freighted with social relevance or cultural importance -- the performer's presence in the picture -- no matter the part's length -- is so impactful that the engaged viewer cannot imagine the movie being the same product without it.
I think this is very much the case for Yura Borisov's Igor in Sean Baker's multiple Oscar-nominated Anora. Igor is a muscle man who works for a fixer (Karren Karagulian), who has been babysitting the son of a wealthy Russian family (Mark Eydelshteyn), who has on a whim married a Brooklyn sex worker.
Igor's expressionless demeanor during the escapade hides his great empathy for the young woman Anora, played with amazing vitality and heart by Mikey Madison. He sees her as caught in the oligarch's web, invited in by the trifling son. Igor's is the most physically demanding supporting role in the picture, and having to match Oscar-nominee Madison's energy and focus is no small thing.
Even so, I think it's the picture's quieter moments between the combative Anora and the big-hearted and, frankly, smitten Igor that sell not only his wonderful character to the audience but the entire picture as being so much more than a comedy about bad people getting what they deserve (or not).
To me, it's about what so many of the more affecting films in this age of moviemaking are about -- missing and making connections, knowing oneself and accepting that knowledge as often painful truth. Yes, during this period of great deception, Hollywood seems to be peddling authenticity and honesty.
Anora the film is brutal and profane and satirical and political and vulgar ... and tender and beautiful because of Borisov's performance.
No comments:
Post a Comment