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Mikey Madison is Ani (short for Anora), a New York exotic dancer who strikes it lucky when the son of a Russian multi-millionaire, Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), becomes enamored with her. The only woman in the club who can speak Russian, although poorly, she soon bonds with the charismatic, if not clueless, young man. A lap dance turns into one night paid with him, which turns into a week where he pays Ani $15k to pretend she’s his girlfriend.
Vanya is adorably immature and inexperienced, so it feels like Ani has the upper hand in the relationship. After a week of debauchery, the pair end up in Vegas, where Vanya proposes marriage to the sex worker. Anora relies on Mikey Madison’s magnetic leading performance and Eydelshteyn’s supporting role. Ani is inherently likable, and it never feels like she is manipulating the younger man or is a gold-digger. The pair marry and genuinely seem into each other. At no point is this relationship uneven or seedy, and the dynamics never get uncomfortable.
The opening act is sexy but never sleazy. While director Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Red Rocket) is not coy in showing boobs and butts waving in customers’ faces, Anora never feels degrading of women. Sex between Anora and Vanya is portrayed as funny rather than a sleazy act. He is obviously inexperienced and desperate to get off quickly so he can play his video games. The sex scenes are reminiscent of Challengers, because being young and in love (or lust) is much sexier than the actual intercourse.
Marketed as a modern Pretty Woman, the happy ending comes at the end of the movie’s first act. When most films cut to the end, that is just the start of Anora. What follows is a farcical comedy tragedy reminiscent of The Safdie Brothers and movies like Uncut Gems. Anora is very much a tale of two halves: part glossy rom-com with lap dances and pulsing rap music, part gangsters threatening shop workers.
Anora review
When Vanya’s parents learn that their 21-year-old son has married a sex worker, they send their men around to convince the pair to annul their marriage. Suddenly, a movie about hedonistic young love becomes a crime caper as Ani’s Cinderella bubble bursts in a dramatic fashion.
Local fixer Toros (Karren Karagulian) is sent by Vanya’s oligarch parents to resolve the issue. He brings along two goons, a bemused Igor (Yura Borisov) and cocky yet inept Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan). When they arrive at Vanya’s mansion, it becomes very obvious just how young and naïve Yanya is.
Ani’s unexpected determination to work on her marriage makes her even more lovable. She stands up for herself physically and emotionally, terrifying the experienced crooks who threaten her and her husband.
It’s difficult to not feel sad for Ani, although the writing never makes her a victim. She is plucked from New York strip clubs and onto private planes and into fur coats, only for it to be taken away so quickly. When the drama kicks in, so does the humor. Anora is frequently hilarious, as the petite dancer outwits the Russian and Armenian goons in a host of amusing and impressive ways. The balance of comedy and drama is so impressively seamless. The writing never laughs at Ani, her work or her situation, instead using the bigger, menacing men as the butt of the joke. Anora is frequently playing with audiences’ expectations and reversing the roles.
Right from the opening montage, in which Ani talks the audience through an average night working as an exotic dancer, audiences will understand who this woman is. Initially, Ani is a ballsy and fearless New Yorker who seems in control of her choices. She has a good relationship with her boss, the club appears clean, and it’s a refreshing and realistic portrayal of strip clubs. So often, they are depicted as the seedy hub for the criminal underbelly when, to many women, it’s just another form of career. Anora is proudly realistic, humoring and even honoring these women.
As the story unravels, Ani shows depth, all facilitated by Madison’s flawless performance. Under all the New York bravado and skimpy outfits, Ani is a 23-year-old woman who believed her dreams had all come true. This performance makes the emotional ending feel like a gut punch. For such a light-hearted and fast-paced film, the final act is shockingly sobering. The tonal whiplash of the finale may leave audiences walking away feeling deflated after 130 minutes of crowd-pleasing fun.
Sean Baker continues to be one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. He continues to understand and humanize those who live on the margins of society. Anora would be greatly inferior without Mikey Madison’s warm and human performance, adding depth to a stereotype often sidelined and over-exaggerated in pop culture.
Grade B
Anora
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.
Release Date: October 18, 2024
Director: Sean Baker
Cast: Mikey Madison , Mark Eydelshteyn , Karren Karagulian
