51st Telluride Film Festival Day Three: Anora, Emilia Pérez, and The Piano Lesson

Day Three at the Telluride Film Festival showcased a trio of bold and innovative films, continuing a notable trend this year: filmmakers swinging for the fences. Noteworthy entries like Nickel Boys, The End, and Emilia Perez were all high-stakes gambles that, as in baseball, led to a mix of strikeouts and home runs.

I kicked off the day with Sean Baker’s Anora, featuring Mikey Madison in a revelatory role as a Brooklyn sex worker whose life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for the son of a Russian autocrat. If the premise sounds familiar, it’s because Baker’s penchant for exploring the lives of marginalized characters continues to surprise and engage.

Anora is a modern-day rags-to-riches fairytale that premiered at Cannes, where it clinched the prestigious Palme d’Or. True to Baker’s style, the film delivers a delightful blend of humor and chaos, making it one of the year’s most entertaining releases. The narrative oscillates between whimsical charm and high-stakes drama; sort of a Pretty Woman meets Uncut Gems atmosphere.

In Anora, Ani (Madison) crosses paths with Ivan (Mark Eidelstein) at the HQ Gentleman’s Club, where his extravagant spending catches her eye. Their relationship quickly transitions from the confines of the club to a whirlwind adventure, evolving from a dreamlike fantasy to a nightmarish turn, always doing so in the most exhilarating ways.

Mikey Madison delivers the breakthrough performance of the year. She is nothing short of transformative. Her portrayal of Ani not only captures the essence of a character on the edge of two worlds but also might have solidified Madison as the frontrunner in the Lead Actress category for this year’s Oscars. Her performance is both riveting and heartfelt, adding depth and nuance to a film that promises to be one of the year’s most memorable cinematic experiences.

Remember when I mentioned home runs? Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez is exactly that – a colossal hit. Imagine a film where a drug lord in the cartel undergoes a sex change and the story unfolds as a musical. It’s an audacious and wildly inventive concept that could easily have gone off the deep end. Fortunately, Emilia Pérez hits all the right notes, thanks to its catchy tunes, imaginative choreography, and a stellar ensemble cast featuring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz. The film’s exceptional performances earned the cast the Best Actress prize at Cannes, an honor that’s only been awarded to multiple people three times before: in 1953 to Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo and Simone Signoret for Les Diaboliques; in 1970 to Glenda Jackson for Women in Love and Joanne Woodward for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds; and in 1998 to Gena Rowlands for Gloria and Emily Watson for Breaking the Waves.

Audiard’s film is nothing short of groundbreaking, blending campy melodrama with unsettling, fever-dream tension. It’s more than just the story of a lawyer (Saldana) aiding a Mexican cartel leader (Gascón) in faking their death and undergoing sex-reassignment surgery. At its core, it’s a powerful exploration of four women’s diverse journeys toward liberation.

The music, crafted by Camille and Clément Ducol, is both powerful and evocative, seamlessly weaving together genres from electronic to pop to rock.

Emilia Pérez is a cinematic marvel – daring, provocative, and deeply engrossing. Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz deliver stellar performances, but it’s Zoe Saldana who truly commands the screen with undeniable force.

Day three concluded with a powerful showing of Malcolm Washington’s The Piano Lesson, featuring an impressive cast that includes his brother John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, Corey Hawkins, Stephan James, and Michael Potts. This film marks Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut and is an adaptation of August Wilson’s 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

John David Washington stars as Boy Willie, a sharecropper from Mississippi who travels north to visit his sister Berniece (Deadwyler) with hopes of selling a family heirloom – a beautifully carved piano – to purchase the land that his ancestors toiled and died for. Berniece, however, is adamant about keeping the piano. Their Uncle Doaker (Jackson) attempts to stay out of the conflict, despite his deep connection to the piano’s storied history. As tensions escalate, the film shifts into an intense, atmospheric horror, as the ghosts of their past emerge, heightening the drama and conflict.

Danielle Deadwyler delivers a remarkable performance, with several powerful scenes that could very well garner her awards consideration this year. Her role in The Piano Lesson builds on her acclaimed work in Till, showcasing her continued growth as a performer. She noted in the Q&A that the film’s spiritual elements provided a profound means for the characters to confront their family’s grief and historical oppression.

Malcolm Washington discussed the significant effort he invested in his debut feature, dedicating years to bring this story to life. His passion for the project was evident, and his work has been widely praised. With such a strong directorial debut and the remarkable performances he elicited from his cast, Washington is a strong contender for a First-Time Feature Film Director nomination from the Directors Guild.