Anora

Written and directed by Sean Baker, Anora is a 2024 comedy-drama film that took home the coveted Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Anora tells the story of Ani (the name Anora prefers to go by), a Brooklyn stripper and sex worker whose whirlwind marriage to Ivan ("Vanya"), the son of a Russian oligarch, throws her life into chaotic yet humorous turmoil. The film stars Mikey Madison in her breakout role as Ani, alongside a talented ensemble cast, including Mark Eidelshtein as Ivan and Yura Borisov as the dangerous but kind hitman Igor.

Sean Baker has a well-established reputation for his unflinching, humanizing portraits of the underprivileged and marginalized in America, and Anora is no exception. Mainly known for Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017), and Red Rocket (2021), Baker's films are significant in contemporary independent American cinema, bringing social realism to the forefront with a raw yet empathetic lens. In The Florida Project, for instance, Baker brought audiences into the precarious lives of children living on the fringes of Orlando's Disney World — balancing the innocence of childhood with the harsh realities of poverty. His work is often described as "social realist" — not only for its honesty but also for its focus on those often overlooked by mainstream cinema.

In Anora, Baker continues to shine a light on the lives of America's "forgotten" people — this time through Ani. As a sex worker and stripper, Ani is part of a subculture that is often stigmatized, but Baker does not romanticize or gloss over her reality. Instead, he presents it with a nuanced honesty that has become his signature. This approach is integral to Baker's critique of the American Dream. Rather than painting Ani's life as sordid or shaped by trauma, he gives her an agency that is rare in stories centered on sex workers or marginalized groups.

Baker's knack for blending genres shines in Anora. What could have easily been a straightforward romantic comedy or a dark drama instead unfolds as a richly layered film that balances humor with moments of genuine sadness. The film's screwball-comedy tone surfaces most vibrantly when Ani and Ivan's marriage shocks his Russian oligarch parents, who entrust unforgettable characters to end the union and annul the marriage (which took place, of course, in Las Vegas). The arrival of Igor, a Russian hitman who's both menacing and surprisingly kind, injects a zany yet relatable layer into the film. Yura Borisov's portrayal of Igor is a scene-stealing performance, with his character's blend of ruthlessness and humor making him both dangerous and endearing. Borisov's ability to make Igor a caricature that is yet believable adds an unexpected element to the film.

This carefully crafted combination of realism and absurdity is perhaps what makes Anora one of the most effective comedies of the decade. Baker allows his characters to oscillate between authentic moments of vulnerability and the exaggerated, slapstick scenarios they find themselves in. The scenes featuring Ani's encounters with Ivan's disapproving family toe the line between satire and genuine tension, showcasing Baker's skill in capturing human folly in all its forms.

A large part of the film's success rests on Mikey Madison's performance as Ani, which has already been described as a "star-making" turn. Madison brings charm and complexity to Ani, allowing her to exist as both a character and a kind of blank canvas in some scenarios. In this sense, Ani recalls the protagonist of Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (played by the historically criticized Ryan O'Neal), who has often been seen as a conduit for the audience's projections. Madison embodies Ani with a certain neutrality in some of the later scenes, reacting to the bizarre events around her with a combination of bemusement and resigned acceptance. However, this is also juxtaposed with some moments of anger and outrage at the situations she finds herself in.

The film's pacing is also masterfully done. At two hours and twenty minutes, Anora could easily feel like an overlong exercise in social critique. However, Baker's direction and the consistently engaging performances keep the story moving at a brisk pace, making it feel shorter than it actually is. Every scene is carefully crafted, each interaction adding a new layer to the story's exploration of class, identity, and the often-illusory nature of the "American Dream."

It is this critique of the American Dream that underpins much of Anora's thematic weight. Peter Debruge, writing for Variety, noted that Anora "makes Pretty Woman look like a Disney movie., which gets to the core of Baker's intentions. By centering the story on Ani, a sex worker who briefly glimpses a life of luxury only to be reminded of the barriers between herself and that world, Baker offers a pointed critique of class divides and the hollow promises of capitalism. Ani's Cinderella story doesn't culminate in a comfortable "happily ever after"; instead, it serves as an allegory for the ways in which the American Dream can be a cruel, unyielding fantasy for those on the fringes of society.

The film also exposes the tension between late-stage capitalism and individual agency, with Ani's journey underscoring how rigidly stratified societies can often co-opt personal stories of success into narratives of survival, stripping away any real agency. In marrying Ivan, Ani is granted a temporary reprieve from her former life, yet the power dynamics between her and Ivan's family underscore the limits of this new world. Her "rags-to-riches" tale is undercut by the ever-present reminder that she is seen as disposable, an outsider who can be removed if she does not fit within the confines of the rules of their world. Baker's vision is uncompromising, showing Ani as both resilient and, in some ways, captive to forces beyond her control.