Anora
Indie auteur Sean Baker winningly does "Pretty Woman" by way of John Cassavetes.
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If I’ve discovered anything about myself as a viewer this past year it’s that I’m becoming more and more of a dirty old man who most enjoys movies when they’re equally sexy and funny. Luca Guadanino’s “Challengers” remains my favorite film of 2024, but Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anora” (now in select theaters and expanding further on Friday, Nov. 15) is a very close second and both pictures fit this bill to a tee.
The marvelous Mikey Madison stars Anora AKA Ani, a full-time stripper and sometime escort. Ani strikes gold when Vanya AKA Ivan (Mark Eidelshtein, he comes across like a young, Russian Jay Baruchel by way of Logan Lerman) enters Headquarters, the club where she works. Ivan is the son of Russian oligarchs Nikolai and Galina Zakharov (Aleksey Serebryakov, Darya Ekamasova). He’s supposed to be studying in America before joining the family business, but most of his learning appears to involve a bong and an Xbox.
Ivan invites Ani to his parents’ palatial Long Island, N.Y. compound. He hits it and they hit it off. He makes her an offer she can’t refuse – be his girlfriend for a week and he’ll pay her $10,000. She counters with $15,000. He agrees and tells her he would’ve paid $30,000.
Ivan, Ani and their friends make an impromptu trip to Las Vegas aboard the Zakharov’s private plane during which the prostitute and her john impetuously get married. This greatly displeases the Zakharovs who sic Ivan’s Armenian handlers Toros (Baker regular Karren Karagulian) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) as well as hired muscle Igor (Yura Borisov) on him in hopes of dissolving the marriage.
To say much more would be a great disservice to you the viewer and to the film itself. “Anora” feels like “Pretty Woman” were it directed by John Cassavetes. It’s funny, freaky, filthy, sexy, surprising and surprisingly moving. I often didn’t know where this wild ride of a movie was going to go and I can’t remember laughing this much in a theater in a long time.
The performances are outstanding across the board, but I was especially impressed by Madison and Borisov.
Madison, who has a history of getting set ablaze on screen (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Scream” (2022)), is on fire here. Ani is money-hungry but also goes into her marriage mostly in good faith. She seems incapable of genuinely giving or receiving love outside the physical realm. She’s fierce, foul-mouthed and surprisingly sensitive. Madison aces all these notes and plays plenty more. She’s a force of nature in this flick and is deserving of all the accolades she’s received thus far … more (including nominations and awards) will most assuredly be coming.
I was unfamiliar with Borisov and the dude’s a real find. He imbues Igor with an inherent decency that’s rare for a role such as this. His line delivery is also often hilarious. Igor is the film’s heart and Borisov and Baker work in lockstep to ensure it’s made of gold.
I don’t know if Baker (who also scripted and edited) is a skeevy perv, genuinely wants to examine what’s going on in society’s fringes or both, but he seems to have a deep-rooted fascination with sex workers and this subject matter has marked much of his filmography, i.e. “Red Rocket,” “The Florida Project,” “Tangerine.” I think I’d like to see him tackle something different next time out, but if he continues making movies as funny, freaky, filthy, sexy, surprising and surprisingly moving as “Anora” then he should do whatever the hell he wants. This dirty old man enjoyed it deeply.