If you’ve ever wanted to see a new take on Cinderella set in Brooklyn, where the titular princess is a high-class stripper and Prince Charming is the son of a Russian oligarch, look no further than Sean Baker’s Anora. The Palme d’Or winner has been on the top of my watchlist since I first heard of it, and I was thrilled to finally catch it in theatres.
Anora—or Ani, as she prefers to be called—is a skilled stripper in Brighton Beach, NY. As the only dancer who speaks the language, thanks to her grandmother, her boss often sends her to work for Russian clients. This is how she meets Ivan (or Vanya, as he uses it interchangeably), the spoiled, immature son of a Russian oligarch. He spends his time gaming and doing drugs in his father’s mansion. Her dream is to escape her life, and his is to never have to return to Moscow. It’s a match made in heaven, and after a week together where Ivan pays Ani to be his “very horny girlfriend,” the two elope on a moment’s notice in Las Vegas. Their fairytale romance is shattered when news of the nuptials reaches Russia and Ivan’s parents descend on New York to force an annulment.
There’s so much to love about Anora. For starters, there are three clearly defined acts, all of which act inside their own genre. The first is Ani and Ivan’s blossoming “romance,” which feels like an updated, more explicit version of the 90s Pretty Woman. In the second act, the romance comes crashing down, spiraling into a screwball comedy as Ivan’s parents send three henchmen to force an annulment. Ivan flees, leading Ani and the men on a wild goose chase around Brooklyn to find him. It’s hilarious and reminiscent of 2019’s Uncut Gems in its furious anxiety. The final act is something else entirely, but I’ll refrain from describing it to keep this review spoiler-free. (And to keep the emotional gut punch of the final shot.) Flitting between these very different acts could be jarring, but the combination of spectacular writing and acting brings it all together seamlessly.
For one, Anora is a star-making vehicle in every sense of the word for its lead, Mikey Madison. She’s best known for her work in Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood and Scream 5, but her role as Ani is transcendent. She’s brassy and vulgar but still brings the vulnerability necessary to make Anora more human rather than a stereotype. Armed with hair tinsel and a thick Brooklyn accent, she’s a force of nature. The performances around her are similarly fantastic, and I particularly loved Karren Karaguilan’s role as Toros, Ivan’s godfather, who leads the charge to find him after he runs away.
Writer and director Sean Baker is known for his focus on people living on the fringes of society and sheds light on groups that most others overlook. Anora is his third film about sex workers. His most acclaimed work, The Florida Project, is a slice-of-life film that focuses on the housing projects on the outskirts of Disneyland. He approaches these stories with a sense of detachment—there’s no judgment, and it feels as though you’re dropped into a fully realized, preexisting world alongside the characters. As a result, we learn little about the backstories of Anora, Ivan, or the other characters. While this may bother some viewers, it actually enhanced the story for me. We catch glimpses of Anora’s life before Ivan, such as her tumultuous relationship with her sister-slash-roommate and her strained connection to her parents. We learn even less about Ivan, aside from his apparent disdain for his parents and his desire to build a life in America. Yet we don’t need extensive backstory to understand why they’re drawn to each other—a testament to the strength of Baker’s screenplay. What might detract from another film only enhances this one.
Anora is genuinely laugh-out-loud hilarious, with the second act featuring some of the funniest scenes and lines in any movie this year. Yet beneath the humor, there’s a simmering undercurrent of tragedy. Although Ani dreams of being a team with Ivan, it’s clear she shares the lowest rung of the totem pole with his father’s three henchmen. While Ivan can casually spend $15,000 and present her with a 4-carat ring, Ani lives in a run-down home with her sister. For Ivan, marriage is a spur-of-the-moment decision; for Ani, it’s survival. Her desperation to find her husband in the second act is as heartbreaking as it is funny. I was struck by the poise and empathy with which Baker portrays the film and its characters, though I shouldn’t have been. If there’s one thing Baker’s films make clear, it’s his ability to handle complex subjects with care, without sanitizing them.
The film is a frenzied, anxiety-inducing rush that takes you on a whirlwind journey through Brooklyn. It’s only in the final act that it all comes crashing down. Though I was laughing the entire way through, I found myself emotional by the final scene. Anora is by far my absolute favorite movie of this year, and I don’t see it being upended any time soon.