Anora begins simply enough, like a Pretty Woman-esque fairy tale for adults. It introduces the title character, working as a stripper, as she talks a series of guys into a private room so she can make extra money with a lap dance. She’s attractive, friendly and knows precisely what to say to get what she wants out of guys like this. Outside the club, her life is uninspired. One day, the club’s owner needs a girl who speaks Russian to show a rich kid a good time. Anora fits the bill and soon her and this goofy Russian start spending more time together in a transactional relationship. The end result is a party in Vegas and an impulsive wedding. Just like that, she has gone from doing what she has to in order to get by to becoming the wife of a nice rich guy who lives in a mansion and is infatuated with her. It is something akin to a traditional Hollywood romance.
Writer/director/editor Sean Baker has no interest in traditional anything. That is only the first stretch of the movie. Then, the guy’s parents back home in Russia catch wind of what their son has done and this suddenly becomes a very different story. Baker, a fantastic filmmaker with the ability to show his audience things about a character that the character may not see in themselves, merely watches Anora as the rug keeps getting pulled out from under what she thinks has happened to her.
Anora (136 minutes, without the end credits) has tonal shifts, but never feels unbalanced or unsure of itself. It has several laugh out loud moments, some scenes where I was legitimately concerned for the protagonist and parts where both are happening at once. It is a funny movie and the way Baker juggles the comedy, the drama and the insight into human nature is pretty brilliant. He spends a lot of time on scenes that other people would rush past to get to the next plot point. His characters are the point. This flies past two hours, yet it never, for a second, feels long. It is one of the most entertaining movies of the year and a clear favorite to win some Oscars in March.
One of the chief pleasures here is Mikey Madison’s performance as Anora. This is absolutely a star-making role for her. This is a woman with so much fire in her, who wants a better life, but seems okay with what she has. She is initially drawn to Ivan because of his money and his lifestyle. She isn’t really looking to be anything more than someone he pays to have sex with him. She grows to like him, without actually falling for him. When he proposes, she doesn’t leap at it. However, it seems that the promise of being with a man who can provide for her overcomes her uncertainty.
We don’t learn any of this through dialogue. It comes across in Madison’s body language, helped immensely by Baker’s patient camera. Though she puts on a brave, angry, face, there is a scared young woman in there. While she thought she was prepared for adult life, what they had couldn’t possibly last in that way. Is it even real? Or is it a fantasy for both of them? Anora puts on a show for a living, portraying a fantasy in a way she can control. Madison is excellent at showing this woman learning that maybe she can’t live her entire life like that. It is a big performance interspersed with quiet unease, kind of like Anora as a whole.
The other actors, specifically Mark Eydelshteyn as the charmingly dorky Ivan and Karren Karagulian as a man Ivan’s parents send to clean up his messes, bring depth and variety. This is Anora’s story, yet these people have their own issues to worry about, their own stories that she is a bit player in. Baker allows us to see this in snippets of dialogue and knowing glances. This is an excellently made movie by a director who has been getting better with every production. As much as I enjoyed The Florida Project, this is even fuller, more complete. Anora is undoubtedly one of the best of 2024 and may prove to be Baker’s masterpiece.
4¾ out of 5
Mikey Madison as Anora
Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan
Karren Karagulian as Toros
Yura Borisov as Igor
Vache Tovmasyan as Garnick
Written/Directed by Sean Baker
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