- Director: Sean Baker
- Screenplay: Sean Baker
- Cast: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan
- Cinematography: Drew Daniels
- Editing: Sean Baker
- Score: Matthew Hearon-Smith
- Genre: Comedy-drama
- Runtime: 139 minutes
‘Anora‘, Sean Baker’s latest in his string of tales of ‘adult performers’ (‘Starlet‘, ‘Tangerine‘, ‘Red Rocket‘), follows young stripper Anora (Mikey Madison), or ‘Ani’ for short, as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Vanya, the son of a Russian oligarch who she meets in the strip club. He’s barely a grown up – his father has paid henchmen to watch over him and he’s incapable of even making his own bed.
In a space of mere weeks, Vanya proposes to Ani. She accepts, and they get hitched in a Vegas chapel. Turns out, he’s only after a green card – I called it pretty early on. News of their wedding reaches Vanya’s dad and, thus he sends his lackeys to annul the marriage tout suite. They turn up at the door, Vanya hightails it down the road, leaving his new bride to deal with the fallout.
Initially putting up a good fight against them, Ani reluctantly joins forces with the men in the search for Vanya, believing she can prove their love is genuine. What ensues is one long, compelling odyssey as the group trawl through possibly every nightclub in Brooklyn in the hunt for the wayward youth.
I struggle to find sympathy for Anora; whilst charming enough with her Brooklyn accent, she’s clearly wise beyond her years (Vanya thought she was older than she actually was) and has dealt with all sorts in her profession. So why didn’t she recognise Vanya as the utter man-child he was? And marrying someone you hardly know?! She sped past so many red flags, she may as well be a Formula One driver.
Although the character elicits no compassion from me, Mikey Madison’s performance anchors the film – she runs the gamut of emotions; naively optimistic, apoplectic, and ending with the sobering acceptance of the situation she’s found herself in. I won’t be surprised if Ms. Madison gets nominated for (and wins) the major awards this season.
My rating: 7 / 10
SilverScreen 