Anora Movie Review
Even without freezing conditions, New York City can be a frigid place. colder if you don’t have the fundamental right to live on its periphery. On the surface, Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which is forceful, lively, and rollicking, unfolds wildly with a frequently humorous tone. It consists of several flawlessly produced, high-energy set pieces with witty remarks. Even while this frequently sultry and passionate movie hides it, beneath that gleam is that New York chill you can’t help but feel in your bones.
Overall, Baker’s work is nothing short of pure cinematic magic. His deftly woven urban machinations repeatedly make you laugh and cry uncontrollably (sometimes in the same scene) while keeping you acutely aware of the sadness that will inevitably surface.
In other words, “Anora” is incredibly vibrant and possesses a quality that we have consistently observed in Baker’s films, which are among the most humanitarian produced today. Sadness is accompanied by happiness. A tragedy can contain humor. Baker has previously shared experiences regarding sex work and sex workers and is frequently sagely and sympathetically vocal about the need to de-stigmatize it. The only reason “Anora,” a movie about the titular escort, functions at a different register is that the film’s final emotional note surprises us despite the obvious warning indications that it is headed for our hearts and souls.
When we first Mikey Madison’s vivacious Russian-American Ani (short for Anora), we know that exotic dancing and sex work is a matter-of-fact livelihood for her. Living a modest life, she isn’t waiting for a knight in shining armor to whisk her away from the club she works at. She just goes about her business with her clientele and bickers with the other girls in the same profession—some of her genuine friends and others of her rivals. But this is, in part, a Cinderella story, so the knight does appear one day. He is Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the prodigal son of a Russian oligarch.
He enlists Ani’s services one night, and despite Ivan’s apparent lack of attention—he is so scattered and motormouth that you wonder if he suffers from a disorder—the two hit it off rapidly. She becomes his American fantasy (“God Bless America!” we hear him groan in one scene), and he becomes her generous high-roller, bringing her out to his giant seaside mansion in Brooklyn for a fancy New Year’s Eve party and other affairs. The place, fashioned with utmost attention to character detail by production designer Stephen Phelps, is like Ivan and maybe his family, too. Clearly touched by heaps of money, but somehow, not all that lovely, cozy, or welcoming. Still, the duo continue to have some fun during and after their transactional rendezvouses. And before we know it, Ivan pops the question during a Vegas trip.
Yes, there are freewheeling shopping sprees and happy days (as happy as one can be with the aloof Ivan), but this big-hearted screwball comedy gets its earnest start after all that, once Ivan’s rich folks back home hear the news of their son’s marriage to an escort. To annul and dissolve the marriage, they turn to Toros (Karren Karagulian), a local priest who monitors the family’s Stateside affairs and their often troublemaking son, who just overspends, plays video games, and causes headaches. His helpers are Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Igor (Yura Borisov), two clueless hoodlums tasked to get Anora out of the family home. Little do they know that she has teeth, a fighting spirit, and more backbone than any of them could handle.
Beautiful casting is one of writer-director Baker’s (as well as his producing partner and wife Samantha Quan’s) many abilities. One wonders if the steely Madison’s brief but memorable performance in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is what got her the title role here. Madison plays Anora and is undoubtedly one of the year’s best actors. She is a furious, passionate, fiery, and tough-as-nails character, much like in the Quentin Tarantino film. However, she also exhibits a depth of weakness here, which she can conceal from most people.
However, not from Igor nor us. Igor first enters Anora’s house as a hired thug during a breathtaking, humorous, and flawlessly staged home invasion. Over time, he begins to see that Anora is vulnerable. Baker, being the astute filmmaker that he is, ensures that we all see what he sees—and more crucially, that he sees it—even though she could miss what he sees.
Much of the film’s tumultuous emotions are driven by this observational undercurrent during chases in the chilly nighttime streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, which are beautifully recorded on film stock with DP Drew Daniels’ sparse yet nuanced tones. As Toros and his team search for ways to undermine Ivan and Ani’s marital bliss, some of the city’s less glamorous corners swiftly take on a lived-in quality thanks to his keen eye. Even if you have never been to New York City before, you will recognize this New York from the city’s cinematic history from the 1970s.
And speaking of wedded bliss…Given that your partner-in-crime is as wealthy and dishonest as Ivan, it should come as no surprise that it was never really real in the first place. Class is a recurring theme in Baker’s films, and this sense permeates “Anora” as it becomes evident that Ani’s seeming adversaries are actually her spiritual kin—workers who Ivan’s family simply takes advantage of and tosses money at. Whether the individuals who form it are conscious of it or not, an allegiance quietly takes place in front of our eyes. And seeing the unspoken camaraderie is so heartwarming.
“Anora” is simultaneously exhilarating and devastating, raucous and sorrowful. Rest assured, though, that despite a gut-punch finale, no character you grow to care about in this film will be left without a glimmer of hope. Baker cares for them equally after bringing so much love and thoughtful detail into their life. It’s his humane side,
