Re: Anora (2024)
My first Sean Baker movie!!
Anora (2024) Sean Baker
PLOT
I get why this film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year. Absolutely unforgettable movie not dissimilar to the whole Blair Waldorf marrying Prince Louis plot from Gossip Girl. Anyway, not the point.
In this version, Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), son to Russian oligarchs, meets Annie (Mikey Madison), a stripper, in her Brooklyn club. Impressed by her Russian, he requests her for a house call for the rest of the week. While Annie agrees technically just for the money, over the course of the week she begins to really start to like him (but Ivan’s giving charismatic serial fkboy). On a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas, Ivan drunkenly proposes to Annie who says yes (for the plot, obviously), and they elope later that night.
When Ivan’s parents find out their son married a stripper, they ask his head minion to annul the marriage before they arrive. That’s when Ivan decides to escape, leaving Annie alone with the team of minions. Even though Annie insists they are in love, the minions still take her ring back. After a lot, a lot, of fighting between Annie and them, they decide to work together to find Ivan before his parents get back so Annie can prove their love and the minions won’t be in trouble. Commence a search for Ivan montage where Annie eventually forms an unlikely friendship with one of the minions, Igor (Yura Borisov). Side note, the three minions are really giving the Three Stooges.
Unfortunately, Annie’s best friend informs her that Ivan was getting a lap dance from her rival, Diamond, at her club. But by the time Annie and the minions get there, he’s too drunk and passes out. The next day they head to the courthouse to get their marriage annulled, but by their luck, they can only get the marriage annulled in Vegas. By this time, Ivan’s parents arrive and they all take the trip to Vegas. Very tense series of scenes where the coldheartedness penetrates beyond the scene. Anora refuses to get on the plane and threatens to sue Ivan’s family (why she would threaten a Russian oligarch is beyond me, but she is only 23, I suppose). They spit back, threatening to actually ruin her life and she finally gets on their plane. They do all bond over everyone’s mutual disgust for Ivan’s actions at the moment though.
After finally annulling the marriage, Igor asks Ivan to apologize to Anora but his mom steps in and states that no one will apologize to a “dirty hooker.” But our confident Anora strikes back hot, telling his mom that Ivan only married her to get back at his family, to which you would assume the Russian oligarch would get angry or defensive, but instead, he seems thrilled. He just giggles and laughs for the rest of the scene. Really interesting character choice that I just loved.
Igor accompanies Anora back to Brooklyn, staying in a hotel for a night, where it is just so evident that he likes her, and they make small conversation and share cigarettes together. Before she walks into her apartment, Igor hands her the wedding ring back, and seemingly feeling obligated, Anora straddles him in the driver’s seat for s*x. But the second it becomes a little personal, when he goes in to kiss her, she breaks down and bursts into tears. The film ends with her sobbing into Igor’s arms.
REVIEW
Despite the movie being primarily about Ivan and his family, Mikey Madison shines in this film. Definitely deserves multiple awards for her performance, especially as she was in every scene. Also, her Jersey accent is impeccable paired with her act as a badass tough girl is just so compelling. This script was so well written and ultra-realistic. Very Gen Z, but that’s what life is now. Roughly a third of the film is in Russian, but it flows so well and adds to the tension and chemistry in each scene. I’m so captivated by Madison’s performance, I need to see more of her work. And Eydelshteyn is such a charismatic male lead, you can’t help but understand why Annie didn’t have many hesitations going along with Ivan. Later, the acting and chemistry between Annie and Igor is intensely captivating, and you can’t help but root for Anora’s happy ending, whatever it may be.
When you give me health insurance, workers' comp, & a 401K, then you can tell me when I work.
I’ve never watched any of Sean Baker’s films before, and I’m greatly impressed by his ability to pull everything together. I was under the assumption that I’d have a lot of unanswered questions, but he managed to tie every loose knot expertly in the last half hour without the ending feeling rushed. Furthermore, his ability to destigmatize s*x work and address the commodification of women’s bodies through this artful medium was deeply profound and impactful. This film humanized and brought forth the stories about the perils of finding love and tackling financial hardship, especially among the working class.
The film is marketed as a romcom drama but I really only see the romance and drama aspect to it. Actually, I’d maybe categorize this as a love story tragedy. Aside from Igor, there aren’t any moments of levity (besides the flirting and love haze). Well, I guess Annie’s constant screaming was also kind of funny (once we knew the minions were *probably* not going to kill or r*pe her) and the comedic timing and line delivery was brilliant.
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One of my favorite aspects in the cinematography is how sparkly and magical the shots are. From the week in NYC montage and the Las Vegas trip to the search for Ivan and the final trip back to New York, the color grading, aperture, and scoring were so expertly shot and synced. Speaking of the Vegas part of the montage, huge shout out to the costume design team for Anora’s costumes and the camera team for those dreamy angles. And another shout out to the soundtrack, especially the intoxicating remix of Taste That’s The Greatest Day.
A lot of the critiques seem to be about Annie’s character, how she wasn’t given a backstory, and how mysterious her motivations seem to be. All of which I disagree. I think it’s crystal clear what Anora’s motivations are. Despite her hard exterior as a strong, independent woman; Annie is a dreamer, she wants to be loved. Madison’s performance undoubtedly resonated with every single woman who finally opened her heart up, just to get played. Those feelings of denial, anger, and stoneheartedness before breaking down was so perfectly captured over the course of the film. No matter how independent and apathetic a woman seems, I think it’s a fairly common deep dark hidden desire for anyone to feel that it would be nice to have someone who would help you clean up your life, help you make those difficult decisions, and ultimately love you through all the mess. The impulsivity of wanting to just take a break and allow someone to maybe take care of us for a chance is so appealing. Despite what anyone says, I think we all have a little bit of Anora in us.
Sean Baker Talks 'Anora', Shooting On 35 mm and winning the Palme d'Or, Maelle Beauget-Uhl
Why ‘Anora’ Star Mikey Madison Said No To Intimacy Coordinators, Actors on Actors
MIKEY MADISON: For our film, it was a choice that I made; the filmmakers offered me, if I wanted, an intimacy coordinator. Mark Eydelshteyn, who plays Ivan, and I decided it would be best to just keep it small. My character is a sex worker, and I had seen Sean’s films and know his dedication to authenticity. I was ready for it. As an actress, I approached it as a job.