As the Oscars approach their 100th anniversary, it could be observed that the Academy voters in recent years have tried to break anything resembling a pattern in giving away the top prize. This reflects not only in awarding films that try very hard to be as different as possible from each other, but also in films that, in one way or another, break previously established rules – whether it is in the form of genre films instead of pretentious dramas, foreign language films like Parasite or films, that, like Anora, written and directed by Sean Baker, deal with themes, use tones, or express views that only recently would have been deemed heretical or unimaginable in mainstream Hollywood. In a landscape often dominated by safe bets and formulaic narratives, Anora looks like a raucous, unapologetic, and surprisingly tender deconstruction of the modern fairytale. It is a film that insists on the grittiness of reality even when the premise demands a fantasy, and it does so with a kinetic energy that rarely lets the audience breathe.
The protagonist of this chaotic drama, played by Mikey Madison, is Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a 23-year-old woman who lives in the Brighton Beach neighbourhood of New York City and works as a high-priced stripper. Her family immigrated from the former Soviet Union, including a grandmother who never learned English, which leaves Ani partially fluent in Russian. This linguistic skill comes in handy when a wealthy patron comes to the club and requests a lap dance with those particular language skills. The patron happens to be Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), the 21-year-old son of Nikolai Zakharov, a wealthy Russian oligarch. Vanya has been sent to America by his father to study, but he spends all of his time and money partying. He is so happy with Ani’s lap dance that he suggests they see each other after work, and she, having no qualms in supplementing her income by escorting, agrees to be his "horny girlfriend" for a week in exchange for $15,000. Both of them have a wonderful time partying and having sex, and they end up in Las Vegas, where Vanya tells his father wants him to return to Russia and start working for his company. He doesn't want to do that and thinks he can stay in America if he marries a US citizen, so he proposes to Ani, which she impulsively agrees to and they elope in a chapel.
When the word of this marriage reaches Vanya’s parents, they would have none of it. Toros (Karren Karagulian), Vanya’s Armenian godfather living in New York City, is told to handle the situation, and he recruits two henchmen – Garnik (Vache Tovmasyan), an Armenian, and Igor (Yura Borisov), a Russian – to accompany him when he comes to Vanya’s mansion and demand that the marriage gets annulled. This leads to harsh words and a confrontation that gets even physical, and Ani, before Igor restrains her, injures Garnik. Toros nevertheless tries to talk Ani into accepting an annulment by offering money, but the problem is that Vanya somehow managed to escape the mansion. Ani very reluctantly joins the trio as they search for her missing husband, hoping against hope that she might somehow save her marriage.
If there is a simple way to describe Anora, the best would be a remake of Pretty Woman, which is at the same time its anti-thesis. Both films take the Cinderella-like premise of a sex worker finding love of her life and a Prince Charming who would solve all their problems. Yet, while Gary Marshall’s 1990 superhit turned out to be an example of mainstream Hollywood’s ability to turn the darkest subjects into a saccharine-like family-friendly fantasy, Sean Baker, the author associated with independent cinema, took a drastically different approach firmly anchored in real life. Where Richard Gere’s character in Pretty Woman was a businessman who needed to be reminded of his humanity, Vanya is a man who has lost his humanity and is entirely dependent on the whims of his parents. Where Julia Roberts’ character transforms from a streetwise hustler into a lady of the manor, Ani remains a streetwise hustler throughout, her class permanently stamped onto her soul.
Realism can be seen at the very beginning, which takes place in a strip club and shows that the film would feature a lot of nudity. The film deals with a sex worker and actually has plenty of rather steamy sex scenes. There are also some unpleasant aspects of sex work that are also portrayed or hinted at – strippers having to deal with potentially creepy customers, their own often brutal rivalry, and plenty of drug use. Furthermore, Baker, whose protagonist explicitly describes her situation as Cinderella-like, shows that this scenario is very far from a fairytale. Unlike the 1990 film, which featured Prince Charming as a single, rich, and handsome enough to be played by Hollywood’s most desirable male lead, here the Prince Charming is relatively plain-looking, a young man who is actually not very bright, doesn't think about the future, and whose existence revolves around sex, alcohol, drugs, and playing video-games. While most conventional films would make the audience to side with the young couple against Vanya’s parents and their minions, Anora suggests that this particular marriage isn't the best possible idea. The script does it subtly but convincingly, allowing the audience to get to this realisation before the protagonist does.
The film also lacks conventional villains, with the possible exception of Vanya's parents, who express utter disdain for anyone below their social standing, and whose desire to bring their son to Russia is more motivated by maintaining their PR status than their son's actual wellbeing. Their underlings, on the other hand, are way down on the food chain and are actually the biggest victims. While they are doing the dirty work for their masters, they have to suffer all kinds of unpleasantness, including a ruined car, a broken nose, and having to break up a catfight in the middle of a strip club. Baker, who has built a reputation of championing downtrodden and marginalised in his films, shows both sympathy for them, as well as using their misadventures to provide some humour, without which Anora would have been a very bitter viewing experience.
Anora benefits a lot from a brilliant cast. Mikey Madison, a young and until this time relatively unknown actress, whose best known role was murderous Sadie in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, took this potentially thankless and risky role with great enthusiasm and energy. She bothered to learn Russian and visited strip clubs to learn the ropes from real strippers. She plays her character, who goes from a worldly professional doing her job, to self-delusion, futile attempts to cling to it, and finally acceptance, with great skill. Her performance was justly rewarded when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The rest of the cast, which is quite diverse, is also very good. Armenian actor Karren Karagulian, who has worked with Baker before, is great as the unfortunate "fixer". Young Russian actor Mark Eydelshteyn is also very good in his role that requires him to seduce the audience, just as Anora, into being Prince Charming before showing his true colours. But the real star is Yura Borisov, a Russian actor who plays what begins as a sinister-looking "gopnik", but quietly transforms into the person who appears to understand Ani and her situation the best and actually makes a genuine connection with her. Baker makes the film look good, despite a relatively low budget, using a combination of various authentic locations in New York City, great cinematography by Drew Daniels.
If there is a flaw in the film, it could be in the middle section, where there is too much repetitive dialogue and adds to the film being slightly overlong. This pacing issue slows down the momentum that the rest of the film so carefully builds, testing the patience of viewers who might otherwise be swept away by the energy of the piece. However, this is a minor quibble in an otherwise explosive piece of cinema.
Anora has wisely ignored all the recent geopolitical unpleasantness, allowing its subject to get universal appeal and not to lose its relevancy if or when certain circumstances change. It was mainly acknowledged by critics, and there was little call for boycotts and controversies associated with the presence of a Russian cast. In Russia itself, the film was a critical and commercial success, proving that great storytelling transcends political divides.
Like Parasite five years earlier, its Oscar triumph was preceded by the Palme d'Or, becoming only the fifth film in history to achieve this feat. Anora might enter history in another way, by becoming the first Hollywood film to take prostitution, or sex work in general, in a positive way, and its author is known for his outspoken views that this activity should be legal. Baker has given us a film that is as intellectually stimulating as it is viscerally entertaining.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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