New Movie Reviews (11.10.24)

Reviews of Heretic, Anora and Universal Language. All of which I liked quite a bit! Awards season is right around the corner so stay tuned for much more!

Heretic (dir. Scott Beck & Bryan Woods)

Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe and compelling performances to champion a film. Heretic is definitely a horror film with a lot on its mind too. It exists to elicit more than screams and jumps from the audience, but to provoke thought. That fact alone elevates this one beyond the usual rollercoaster ride at the multiplex.

Things do get “real,” and creepy after a truly effective setup. Surprisingly, it slowly but surely evolves into cinematic essay on the nature of religious devotion mixed with a psychological bent along with twisty sense of unease. There’s no denying that A24 continues to get behind films that challenge the audience but within the confines of genre so you’re guaranteed to be freaked out and entertained simultaneously.

Two young female missionaries of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), well-studied and contrasted by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, go on a recruitment visit to a strange house on a hill. They are intent on obeying the safety rules of the Church. Their characters grow apace into intelligent, brave individuals, despite finding themselves in an alien cul de sac. They find themselves in physical and spiritual danger, as everything they believe in is challenged by the well-researched homeowner ‘Reed’ whose religious argument is powerfully delivered with confidence and intellect. Little do we know what he has in store for our two leads.

Once we get to the halfway point of the film, there’s no denying the fact that every performance here is exceptional, particularly Hugh Grant who finds dark menacing humor amidst his creepy, confrontational stance. One moment involves comparisons to board games and pop culture in a way that will definitely cause chuckles but Grant finds the right balance to also make you truly fear his authority and demanding presence. It could very well be the best performance of his career for the layers and levels of nuance contained.

Thatcher and East are also right on the same level, particularly the latter for a turning point later on. The only quibble I have involves the running time and a feeling that it could’ve been tightened to avoid running out of steam in the final stretch. The ending leaves a little to be desired despite a powerful final image. I wouldn’t say it spins its wheels but one reveal in particular made me restless and reminded of another recent successful horror film. Everything that comes before the final act though is compelling, jaw-dropping and downright unnerving throughout. It’s more than the Hugh Grant show but it’s definitely one of the reasons to make this a priority. Despite wanting maybe a bit more from its conclusion, that’s not to take away how great the rest of it is.

I can’t go into too much detail in order not to spoil but it does really ratchet things up in a way that is surprising. Not to mention Grant carrying every single moment with grace and acuity. For those searching for scares with depth and complexity, Heretic delivers a fiendish sermon on faith, terror, and the dangerous space in between. It’s proof that religious horror still has fresh ground to break, confronting the demons we willingly invite in. How it manages to be a film of intellectual and spiritual debate while also being chock full of tension is a “miracle” in of itself.

Anora (dir. Sean Baker)

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Mikey Madison. In actuality, she’s been acting for quite a while now but anyone whose seen her show up in anything could sense that this was coming. She’s long overdue for a front-and-center showcase and the latest from Sean Baker is definitely that. I often use the word fearless to describe favorite performances of past and present and Mikey Madison as the titular Anora (Ani) here deserves that descriptor.

I also won’t bury the lead in proclaim Sean Baker’s latest as my favorite film of his to date. Granted, I certainly can see myself revisiting Tangerine and preferring that due to a shorter running time but this one just feels like all of his strengths coming together in such a satisfying way that I’m willing to forgive how long the opening half hour felt due to many music montages and party sequences. That’s about the only downside to the experience. Once we get past the setup and the character dynamics, the chaos takes shape into something resembling a screwball comedy but with a humanist bent.

Sean Baker has made a name for himself telling stories on the fringes of society. For that, he has been accused of condescension and "poverty tourism," but I feel he transcends these accusations thanks to his deeply empathic approach to incredibly flawed characters who often make poor choices. He invites you to laugh at predicaments but never at the people themselves and he achieves this thanks to his skills as a writer/director and his seemingly supernatural ability to find the perfect actors for his films. Which is definitely the case here with Mikey Madison, someone who we’ll be seeing a lot more of.

Nicknamed “Ani,” Anora (Mikey Madison) is an erotic dancer who specializes with Russian-speaking customers, and seems to have found a lucky break through meeting Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (a consistently funny Mark Eydelshteyn). Vanya is the son of a Russian oligarch, and being a part of his life seems like a dream come true for Anora. The pair do eventually fall in love (?) get married, but Vanya’s family objects, believing marrying a sex worker would hurt the family name, and insisting the relationship was never genuine. Things quickly spiral out of control with hilarity, pathos and anxiety about how things will turn out for all involved.

At times I was often reminded me of Flirting with Disaster or at a certain point, the kind of manic energy fueled by confrontation that you’d get in a Safdie Brothers film. But of course, Sean Baker has definitely made films of a similar ilk as his latest. There’s just something more here that keeps it better than his last two. It could be the high-wire balancing act of Madison’s performance at the center but there’s also a fascinating dynamic that forms with Ani and one of the “goons” assigned to watch over her. The payoff to their conflict and connection really cements this film as special.

Effortlessly moving from sassy to vulnerable, to a confident dancer to hilariously brash New York spitfire, Madison is magnetic and flawlessly handles the mix of laughter and fear. She’s going to be be giving older and more seasoned stars a serious run for their money come Oscar time. The whole film is assured, often laugh out loud funny and brutally sad. It’s a balancing act of tone that remains consistent and engaging even when surrounded by despicable characters and their need for control. Late to the party for sure since most folks I know have proclaimed their love for Anora, but I’m among them. It’s truly one of the year’s best films and we’re going to be hearing a lot more about this one for awards season and beyond.

Universal Language (dir. Matthew Rankin)

One of the year’s funniest films begins with a comedic set piece involving a classroom and maybe I should just leave it at that. That entire sequence made me laugh hysterically that part of me was primed for that reaction for the whole duration. Suffice to say, that isn’t the case but there’s also a lot here to appreciate and adore throughout. Especially since absurdity is precisely what makes me smile; this has that in droves and often accompanied by subtlety.

I am not familiar with the work of this filmmaker but I’m curious to see what else is out there beyond his other feature. One part of me thought I would be primed for Guy Maddin territory when I heard this took place in and around Winnipeg but much to my surprise, it’s more of an homage to Kiarostami and Tati. For all you adventerous cinephiles out there, you’re in for a treat with Universal Language. Especially if you find turkeys hilarious, and you should.

The narrative follows three main storylines. In the first, young girls Negin and Nazgol find 500 Riels (this world’s stand-in for the Canadian dollar) frozen in ice and ask Massoud (Pirouz Namati) to watch it while they find a tool to retrieve it. The second plot follows Massoud in his job as a tour guide for obscure Winnipeg attractions. The final tale centers on Matthew (Rankin playing himself) as he leaves his job in Montreal, returning home to visit his mother for the first time in several years. 

There’s a seamless quality that effortlessly weaves all three together, perhaps evoking something like Richard Linklater’s Slacker. The camera takes on a life of its own in ways that initially reminded me of Wes Anderson but Rankin still maintains an original voice throughout. Sometimes, there’s no next character to find, and the camera will simply linger on B-roll of the highway, or other aspects of the brutalist, industrialized rendition of Winnipeg. I was really taken with the time, place and setting as much as the stories themselves.

The homage to Iranian cinema is there even if yours truly doesn't understand the references. There are a lot of Canadian points, Quebec points, Winnipeg points, Manitoba points, as well as Farsi and Iranian points. To me, this was a world that I hadn’t seen before and it’s fully realized throughout. That and it really made me dread the winter months to come for reasons that are apparent. (Though it would be nice to find $500 buried under some ice).

What I love about the film is that the humor isn’t forced. Things happen in a grounded, organic fashion. Details are certainly random and unexpected but it all ties together to create a heartwarming (and often downright silly) film that shows the sign of even greater things to come from Rankin. The smile rarely left my face even if I found more characters and segments more compelling than others which makes this worth anyone’s time. There’s also a commercial for a particular business that made me scream-laugh as well as a memorable bus ride along with the passenger.

Too many absurdist comedies don’t feel real and feel like they are trying to make a point. Eugène Ionesco’s plays which are excellent absurdist pieces have always appealed to me due to their manic energy but this film is the flipside of that. It does force you to pay attention to random images in the background (don’t get me started on one here involving a photographer and a donkey). It’s leisurely paced which didn’t entirely work for me at times but patience is rewarded and I can’t say enough great things about how the film begins and concludes. Excited to see what this filmmaker does next and eager to revisit Universal Language if only to select certain moments for a future “favorite clips” montage that I hope to put together.