“Anora” - Film Review
On paper, it would seem like Sean Baker’s latest film, Anora, would have quite the uphill battle to become part of the awards season conversation. Surprisingly, since its world premiere at Cannes earlier this year, there has yet to be a hurdle it could not clear. As with all of Baker’s previous work, the film’s compassionate focus is on a member of a marginalized community whose story is rarely told through this lens. Anora is a bit of an enigma. The film moves from dazzlingly charming to screwball to gently heartbreaking, and it’s presented as a love letter of sorts to the woman at the center of it all.
Anora (Mikey Madison), or Ani as she likes to be called, works at a strip club in New York City. She’s clearly good at her job, with an effortless smile that can make anyone it’s directed at feel like they’re the center of the universe. As good as she is, the job is draining with long, overnight hours. One night, Ani’s boss asks her to meet Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), a twenty-one-year-old rich kid who wants a dancer who speaks Russian. Ani is the only one who fits the bill and, against all odds, she finds herself charmed by this boy. She impulsively agrees to go with him to Vegas, where the two get married. Once news of their wedding reaches Ivan’s family, Ani realizes that she might not know Ivan as well as she thought she did.
The whirlwind romance of Ani and Ivan pulls the audience in from the beginning. Sure, there are red flags that come up, like Ivan’s refusal to tell Ani where he gets all his money and his drug-fueled carefree expensive lifestyle, but then the camera lingers on Ani. We’re introduced to a young woman who is so confidently in charge of her life, her body, and her career that when we see her falling for Ivan, we allow ourselves to fall too. To think maybe those crazy kids will make it. Maybe Anora will be a Cinderella story for the ages, even though every rational bone in our bodies is telling us there’s no chance in the world where this turns out well for Ani. It’s a testament to Baker’s directing, editing, and writing that makes falling for these characters so effortless. It’s also a testament to Madison and Eydelshteyn as performers.
courtesy of NEON
Both Madison and Eydelshteyn are relative newcomers. Most of Eydelshteyn’s credits are from Russian TV and movies, while Madison has had supporting roles in Scream (2022), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…, and others. However, you would never guess from their performances that they’re still relatively early in their careers. Anora is made or broken by Madison, and it’s something Baker likely realized as he was conceptualizing the script and casting. Without someone who is both commanding and vulnerable, Anora wouldn't be able to hold water. Luckily, Madison is a force who can contend with every single person on the screen. It’s often Ani against everyone else, especially as the rose-colored tint of her love affair begins to wear off, but there’s never a feeling that she’s truly outnumbered. Madison makes it so easy to fall for Ani, not just with the smile she gives to the men at the strip club, but in her earnest desire to have something real, romantic, and meaningful that’s all hers. An ideal awards season would see Madison and Demi Moore’s performance in The Substance duking it out for the top prize. Both are physically demanding, vulnerable roles that are thrilling to watch.
Anora stumbles as it tries to find its way out of the screwball comedy of the film’s second act. It runs on a little too long and makes it obvious that as much as Madison embodies Ani, the audience is a little in the dark about this character’s key motivation. She clearly cares for Ivan, but when he abandons her to deal with the goons his parents sent, all those red flags that were kept at bay should start waving in her face. Unless maybe she never cared about Ivan and was only in it for the money, but the film doesn’t seem to support that narrative. In the moment, it’s easy to enjoy being taken on this odd journey through New York City for the missing Ivan, but after the film ends, the audience is left to wonder what Ani wants. Of course, the argument could be made that Ani doesn’t know what she wants in terms of her relationship with Ivan, but is so sure that she at least wants to have some semblance of control returned to her.
After taking home the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year, it seems Anora is poised to pick up some hardware in the upcoming award season. The film is dreamy, while never taking the audience too far from the stark reality of Ani’s life. So easy to be swept up in and so easy to fall back down to earth, Anora is a slice-of-life humanist tale told in typical Baker fashion.
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