NYFF 2024 Review: “Anora” – An Outrageous Cinderella Story!

Filmmaking is a process and a career in which one is expected to grow. Not every first film will be a box-office hit and not every prominent filmmaker is given a multi-million dollar budget from the prominent studios on their first few projects. Sean Baker has been known for his low budget films that over the last nine years have gained critical acclaim.

In 2015 he released Tangerine, which was shot entirely on iPhones for only $100,000. Flash forward as he landed his first collaboration with A24 for The Florida Project, which opened him up to more audiences being nominated for the Academy Awards and Golden Globes that year followed by Red Rocket, which was made for about $1,000,000 starring Simon Rex.

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Following in the realm of his exploration of different social and economic classes through his characters and chosen stories, Anora is a film about a young exotic dancer Annie (Mikey Madison) who’s life is changed when Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch, walks into her club. He sweeps her off her feet and asks her to marry him, thus setting off a chain of events as his parents will do whatever they can to get the marriage annulled and Annie will do anything to persuade them of their love for each other.

In classic Sean Baker nature, Anora is a film with a cast of insanely funny and memorable characters where every single one steals the screen. Baker has such flair for writing his characters in a way where every single one makes a statement in their own way and adds to the story, whether they are on screen for a minute or a full two hours. Anora is no different. Mikey Madison portrays one of the most memorable and outrageous characters in recent memory and fully commits to the role physically and emotionally.

Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan plays the trust fund “never done a day of work in his life” son perfectly, causing the audience to laugh at his stupid shenanigans one minute to be absolutely floored by how fun can turn into destruction just by the actions of one character. Ivan’s father’s three goons Igor (Yura Borisov), Toros (Karren Karagulian), and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) are played like slapstick royalty, becoming the comedic powerhouses of the film, right alongside Anora. Casting actors that aren’t the faces of Hollywood in his films, allowing them to sink into the characters, along with his tremendous writing that brings these familiar human characters to life makes Anora so unforgettable.

His films often focus on the working class, but every film he makes takes a nuanced look at how these groups of people live day to day and the challenges they face. One of the biggest criticisms of Baker’s work is his constant focus being on lower social and economic classes of people, clearly being a successful filmmaker. However, it would be a disservice to the industry for a filmmaker to not take on characters in varying social classes, especially with his ability to develop comedic scripts with a notable cast of characters at their center.

In an industry where it is often harped on the depression and pain people in lower economic classes face, showing the humanity and strength they display in their daily endeavors is what Baker does amazingly. Mikey Madison and Baker bring depth to Annie’s sex work and how her dreams and desires are not so much different than the rest of us. Upon meeting Ivan and getting a taste of how it feels to be “genuinely” cared about and taken care of, it makes the rest of the film’s journey that much more difficult to watch through her eyes.

Anora is a bold yet hilariously entertaining feature with just enough of realism to portray how some people will get their happy endings for life while it will just be out of reach for others. Baker exemplifies the power people come into from simple familial ties and the pressures and consequences they will never have to face as a result. Regardless of how fun the film is, Baker never leaves out the hard truths many of us face in life and the circumstances that often will always keep some at the top and some from ever reaching it. Anora is a powerful film that will warrant plenty of rewatches and become an instant classic.

‘Anora’ Rating – 5/5

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