Film Review – Anora

November 10th, 2024 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

Writer/director Sean Baker has made a name for himself by focusing his stories on the margins of society. His characters are constantly trying to make ends meet in the hopes of achieving the “American Dream” – whether that is a home, someone to love, or simply finding a place to exist. But what has propelled him into the top tier of filmmakers today is his empathy. He doesn’t put attention on a certain place or a particular community to ridicule them. Instead, he finds the humanity in those so often ignored, showing them as living, breathing people who just want the same things we all do. By taking us to these different worlds, he shows us how similar we all are.

Anora (2024) is a continuation of this trend. Here, he takes the basic “Cinderella” story structure and twists it into a riveting tale of class, companionship, loyalty, and freedom. This might be Baker’s most bombastic outing yet. He approaches the material like a screwball comedy, where the chaos and tension ramps up so aggressively that we find ourselves in a madhouse without even realizing it. Although there is plenty of comedy and slapstick to go around, Baker never wavers from anchoring his narrative to real, tangible emotion. These characters succumb to a fairy tale like splendor, only to get tugged back to Earth quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Imagine the blood pressure rising tension of Uncut Gems (2019), the youthful exuberance of Romeo + Juliet (1996), and the all-night spontaneity of After Hours (1985) and you would be getting somewhere close to Anora. The film is split into two sections. In the first, we meet Anora, or “Ani” (Mikey Madison), an exotic dancer/sex worker from New York. Her life gets turned upside down when she meets Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. What starts out as a routine business transaction turns into something more, as Ivan’s infectious energy (and endless amount of money) wins Ani over. The two fall head over heels for one another, so much so that when Ivan suddenly proposes to Ani, she impulsively accepts.

This section feels like a dream. Baker’s writing/direction/editing (with Drew Daniels’ cinematography) breathlessly escalates Ani and Ivan’s affair. Ani goes from the strip club to a big mansion, private jets, trips to Vegas, and all-night benders in the blink of an eye. It’s just one moment of bliss after another, where Ani and Ivan exist for the sole purpose of fulfilling one another’s pleasures. The pacing moves with kinetic energy, as though this were Pretty Woman (1990) hopped up on cocaine. The tone is alive and buzzing, giving into the same kind of attitude young people have where all they want is to have fun, forget about their responsibilities, and deal with the consequences tomorrow. 

But soon enough, reality strikes. The second half deals with Ivan’s family learning of the marriage and sending their lackeys to have it annulled. The narrative then turns into a single night odyssey, where Ani and Ivan must deal with forces trying to tear them apart. Admittedly, this section doesn’t have the same kind of high-octane propulsion as the first, but it’s most certainly funnier. The men sent to apprehend Ivan and Ani – Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and Igor (Yura Borisov) – get into a nutty situation. Some of the funniest interactions involve the three trying to get answers from the two lovebirds, stop them from running away, and figuring out how to dissolve the marriage. There is a ton of yelling between them all that only gets funnier the louder they become. The question then becomes whether any of these people will make it through the night before they are all at each other’s necks.

Baker juggles various elements all throughout. At any given point, this could be characterized as a romantic comedy, crime thriller, neo-realism, dark comedy, or character study, and yet they all fit together seamlessly. This requires a cast that knows exactly what they are doing and have the confidence to take the story to its natural extremes. Thankfully, everyone is up to the challenge. Eydelshteyn plays Ivan like a Peter Pan variant – a young man who refuses to grow up. He’s sole desire is to do whatever he wants before he gets sent back to Russia to work for his parents. Karagulian, Tovmasyan, and Borisov are very good as the three knuckleheads. Borisov comes to the forefront as Igor. We first meet him as the hired muscle sent to do the dirty work, but the more we get to know him the more we see his compassionate side. With a small glance or change of expression, Borisov turns Igor into someone who can step outside of his own shoes and understand others’ point of view.

But the main highlight is obviously Mikey Madison, who turns in a star making performance in the lead role. The part is demanding on an emotional and physical level. She must exude the joy and passion of the first half, and then switch things around into a more guarded, defensive, and adversarial demeanor in the second. There are several scenes of Ani screaming, arguing, fighting, and confronting other people – it would be easy for a lesser actor to simply go for broke each and every time. But Madison gives the character more nuance than that. There is a reason Ani doesn’t go by her full name, “Anora.” Ani is the guise she puts out to the world, Anora hints toward her inner, more vulnerable self. Madison’s performance gives off so many different, compelling shades. Is Ani really in love with Ivan, or is she in love with his lifestyle? When she struggles to keep her marriage intact, is it because she sees a life with Ivan or is she trying to escape the life she once had? 

Ultimately, Anora operates as an anti-fairytale. Ani desires to move out of the sex work trade and Ivan desires to have the freedom America promises. And while both get a taste of that for a short stint, harsh truths bring it all crashing down. But that isn’t to say that Baker treats this as completely hopeless. That’s what makes Igor such an interesting addition. In a strange away, he operates as an alternative to the surreal nature of Ani and Ivan’s romance. Igor is like a silver lining, a speck of kindness and thoughtfulness in a world that is quickly lacking in both. The fact that this is coming from someone meant to intimidate and threaten other people makes it all the more ironic. 

Anora is another entry into Sean Baker’s streak of well-made, colorful movies about people we don’t see every day. He takes a premise that may seem off the wall or unconventional and finds the human factor underneath, connecting us to his narrative so that we can understand where these characters are coming from. This was a fun, outrageous, smart, hilarious, and heartfelt experience. This is filmmaking firing on all cylinders.   

After Hours, Anora, Drew Daniels, Featured, Karren Karagulian, Mark Eydelshteyn, Mikey Madison, Neon, Pretty Woman, Romeo + Juliet, Sean Baker, Uncut Gems, Vache Tovmasyan, Yura Borisov