My biggest issue with this film is that I don’t really feel like we get to know Ani as a person. I won’t comment on how this film depicts sex work or sex workers or anything because that’s a topic/subject matter I have pretty much next to zero knowledge about but even on the fundamental principles of both her own agency and how she is written as a character in general, I don’t really feel like we got to know her and what she feels or experiences beyond it just being explained to us through dialogue. It only really seems like external events, consequences as well as just the men around her are what defines her throughout the film, and despite Mikey Madison giving an absolutely amazing performance, I think the dialogue was really the only thing that even provided somewhat of a glimpse into her individuality. The ending also really rubbed me the wrong way given the context of the rest of the film. I dunno I really wanted to like this one more guys, the acting was amazing, I really do fuck with how Sean Baker depicts the age of time and sensationalized sequences of events to provide juxtaposition with the greater context of the narrative, and a lot of it was very funny and amusing, but where it failed was probably the most important thing of all and that is to give its titular character her own sense of self, and it really underwhelmed in that regard for me.

Sorry everyone :(