Film Review: Anora is Equally Hilarious and Tragic

Neon

5/5 stars

Sean Baker (Red Rocket, Tangerine, The Florida Project) has made a name for himself telling stories on the fringes of society. For that, he has been accused of condescension and "poverty tourism," but I feel he transcends these accusations thanks to his deeply humanist approach. He invites you to laugh at these characters' predicaments but never at the people themselves and he achieves this thanks to his skills as a writer/director and his seemingly supernatural ability to find the perfect actors for his films.

This has never been more the case than with Anora, his best film yet; a late-stage capitalist Cinderella that is funny, heartfelt, and heartbreaking in equal measure.

Ani (Mikey Madison) is a New York City sex worker who finds her life changed after meeting Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of Russian oligarchs. They seem to be the perfect match — she wants money and he wants to stay in America. After a whirlwind week together, the two get married, but their happiness is interrupted when Ivan's parents send hired thugs to their house demanding that the marriage be annulled and Ivan return with them to Russia.

Madison is the true star of the show and she carries the film on her tough but vulnerable performance. Ani has no delusions about this romance — Ivan is her ticket to a life she never thought possible and the audience finds her predicament easy to sympathize with. The conflict is entertaining without mockery or sanctimony and we get wrapped in Ani's manic fairy tale right up to the inevitable but devastating final shot. Anora is currently playing in select theaters but will come to a wider audience in early 2025. 

Written and directed by Sean Baker // Starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan, Karren Karagulian, Paul Weissman, Lindsey Normington, Anton Bitter, Iva Wolk, Emily Weider, Aleksey Serebryakov, and Darya Ekamasova // 139 minutes // Neon // Rated R