ANORA: Kinetic Tragi-Rom-Dramedy

By Harrison J. Bahe

Anora, a sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Sean Baker has always been a fiercely original director. His films focus on a specific type of character archetype that you could have easily met in the wanderings of your life. He also has a knack for casting non-actors on the spot and is able to get a natural, powerful performance out of them. In short, Baker is one of those rare filmmakers who are still making “real” original films that don’t stem from the Hollywood system of sequels, prequels and remakes. His films feel like they came from the era of the 70’s and 80’s where filmmakers with a strong voice were given carte blanche to create dark, gritty films that didn’t hold the viewer’s hand; the kind of films that exposed morally ambiguous characters to audiences who were left to their own devices on whether or not they were the hero or villain. Even on a technical level, he was a leader in experimental filmmaking having shot an entire film of his on the iPhone. Even now, he favors shooting on film over digital. He is a filmmaker I have come to adore and respect and now his next film, which recently won the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, is about the hit cinemas.

Anora is a kinetic, modern day fairytale romance that unfolds from the wily world of the sex worker. Mikey Madison, who plays the titular Anora, delivers the most powerhouse performance of 2024, blending the careless young woman out for a quick buck with a wobbly powerless girl way in over her head with a sad, damaged human being just looking for authenticity and love in all the wrong places. Mark Eidelshtein, who plays the reckless 21 year old Ivan, plays up the spoiled brat of rich parents with relative ease. Admittedly, half the time he is a drunk mess but his arc is in service of Anora’s growth as a character. Baker typically focuses his films on the middle class social structure but, with this film, this is the first time he has explored the world of the super rich and the world they inhabit.

Part of what makes Anora an absolutely wild ride is its fluidity of tone from seedy to sexy to fun to chaotic to comedic to dramatic. While I did watch trailers for this film, nothing could have prepared me for the 48 hour odyssey of insanity that played out in the second half of the film. The sheer craziness of zany misadventures that play out is worth the price of admission alone. Even side characters have their moments of hilarity.

Anora is equal parts romance, comedy, drama, and tragedy. It finds a way to be all of those genres in an organic way. The romance of the film is the fairytale aspect for the modern relationship: meeting a rich man, partying all night, having sex, falling in love, getting married on a whim. The comedy of the film is the recklessness of that love and the challenges that the newly formed couple face. The drama of the film is the human aspect of these relationships: is it true love if all you ever really did was party, do drugs, and have sex? Based on the final scene alone, we realize, in the end, that we were watching a tragedy all along. It’s chaotic. It’s fast paced. It’s hilarious. It’s beautiful. It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking. Which is why I give Anora—

5 Rings out of 5

Anora is Rated R for strong sexual content throughout, graphic nudity, pervasive language, and drug use. Anora will be in theaters nationwide starting October 25th, 2024.