Anora (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

My Take – By setting his narratives in the underrepresented, often marginalized fringes of society, with the right amounts of humor and drama, Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) has made a distinct name for himself as a sensual and hyper-realistic writer and director.

But while his earlier works have won him enough accolades for his humanistic approach, his latest effort catapults him into the status of one of the best filmmakers actively working right now.

Having won the Palm D’or for the best film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this one is indeed his finest feature till date, in fact, it is one of the finest releases this year. Deeply funny, moving and unsettling, all at the same time, writer-director Sean Baker‘s screwball Cinderella tale is a reverse of the traditional fairy-tale concept.

A sexy, raw and ultimately a sweet modern story that flips just when you think you know where it is going. It upends your expectations and proves to be a much more challenging with a sobering reality at its core.

Acting as a compelling exploration of survival, class disparities, and the transactional nature of relationships, the film is writer-director Sean Baker‘s version of Pretty Woman (1990) and it’s all we could’ve hoped for: a masterwork that combines deadpan cinematography, exuberant profanity and dreams.

This is the kind of original and relevant film-making that needs to be seen, celebrated, and supported, and it’s a joy to see it receive deserved appreciation from all corners.

Set in the gritty streets of New York, the story follows Anora “Ani” Mikheeva (Mikey Madison), a 23 year old high-priced erotic dancer who performs at the Headquarters strip club located at Manhattan. While she does not offer sex in the VIP rooms, Ani confidently prances from man to man at the club, sidling up to them, flirting, offering a private dance, which they rarely refuse. Ani, it’s clear, is smarter and tougher than she lets on to her clients.

One night, she is introduced by the club’s manager to Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), a laid out, 21 year old party-boy son of an oligarch, who requests a Russian speaking performer. And since Ani’s grandmother was Russian she understands the language completely and speaks it haltingly, she’s assigned to his table. Of course, Ivan is immediately smitten with her and eventually invites Ani to his enormous mansion, and then to his New Year’s party.

Soon enough, he offers her $15,000 to spend the week with him, as his girlfriend. However, in a whirlwind of romance, sex and madness, the two end up getting married in Las Vegas. But Ani’s fairytale quickly turns into a nightmare when the news reaches Russia, and his parents call upon their network of associates in New York to get the marriage immediately annulled.

The story is pretty simple but the film is very entertaining from beginning to end. As director Baker expertly blends laugh-out-loud funny moments with scenes of heartbreak in the narrative. Like his previous films, there is unease and tension throughout. His characters are so vulnerable and yet so careless and willful, you never get to relax.

The first hour or so of plays like a dream, as Ivan and Ani have sex, get high, and cavort around the city. Ivan’s charmingly broken English and wide-eyed glee over, well, pretty much everything, makes him a uniquely amusing and nonthreatening companion. It’s all a beautiful dream for Alice and we know it can’t last, yet we enjoy it all the same.

That’s when the magic of the script truly kicks in, as things spin out of control and the film expands in unorthodox ways.

The central conflict is entertaining without mockery and simply wraps us up in Ani’s manic fairy tale right up to the inevitable but devastating final scene. Mainly as it avoids a variety of possible pitfalls and glues us with a flawed character it is impossible to root for.

Here, Ani uses whatever means necessary to secure herself in a life where options are limited. The film often reminds us how survival for someone in Ani’s position often means compromising personal desires for security. And when the narrative takes her back to her original transactional life, it is heartbreaking to watch, demonstrating realistically how class and economic disparity trap people in systems that are nearly impossible to escape.

The script also explores the way wealth shelters people from consequence. For example, Ivan is the embodiment of unearned privilege, who treats everyone as disposable tools for his enjoyment. He brings a stark contrast to Ani’s world: for him, wealth has allowed him to live without accountability. This difference in how they each perceive money creates a powerful commentary on class and privilege.

The same goes for Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and Igor (Yura Borisov), the associates of Ivan’s parents who come to end their marriage. But instead of playing them like the usual stereotypical goons, the film allows us to see that they too are just employees, who are trying not to get fired, particularly for letting the prince marry a sex worker.

Here, director Baker also takes a clear-eyed view of sex workers. While the film contains frequent sex scenes and considerable nudity, it’s not pornographic, lurid or voyeuristic. The film conveys that sex for money is a last-ditch source of income for people who otherwise may have few or no options for surviving financially. Sex work is neither glamorized nor vilified unnecessarily.

Performance wise, to say that relative newcomer Mikey Madison is an absolute revelation in the titular role is an understatement. She effortlessly combines sexiness, femininity, childlike innocence, and toughness in a way that leaves you speechless. Mark Eydelshteyn is very believable as a spoiled rich boy, making the role a complete showcase for the young actor.

Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan and Yura Borisov too are fantastic and manage to be both hilarious and nuanced throughout. On the whole, ‘Anora’ is a rare crowd-pleaser that flawlessly manages to be funny, heartfelt, unsettling and heartbreaking in equal measure.