Movie Review: Anora
One-liner: A full tilt lead performance, an elusive genre mix and a curious grit and glitz tension fuel this sleazy chic adult Cinderella story.
Anora is an unconventional, multifaceted film that serves as a visceral character portrait of Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a young Brooklyn sex worker. Her life becomes entangled with a wealthy Russian family whose fortune is built on a criminal empire.
Working at a strip club, Ani is the only girl who speaks some Russian. This makes her the default escort for Vanya, the hedonistic heir to an oligarch’s fortune. Their fates intertwine as Vanya books more and more of her time, eventually hiring her as his exclusive girlfriend. Dragged along for the ride, Ani sees a way out of her hard-knock profession, leading to an neon-lit Cinderella tale that quickly discovers the limits of her new lover’s influence.
The young couple impulsively ties the knot, but the ensuing chaos transforms the story. A manhunt is initiated by Vanya’s family, who scramble to disentangle the new bride, drawing out a host of oddball minders and thugs. What begins as a raunchy romance drama soon twists into a crime comedy-caper. High contrasts are made between the sleazy, after-dark machinations of downtown life and the super-rich pastimes of a boy who is essentially home alone.
Sean Baker’s film received critical acclaim, fueled partly by its subject matter, handling and in spite of its borderline gratuitous depictions of sex. Leading the film is a full-fledged performance from Mikey Madison. Her ability to completely inhabit the lead character through her dance moves, vulnerability and unflinching commitment, is so convincing, it’s easy to forget you’re watching a performance. Madison challenges her supporting cast, appearing opposite the slow-burning Yura Borisov and excitable Mark Eydelshteyn. The three share natural, seemingly effortless chemistry, forming the core of this strange brew.
“I want to say we’re in heaven.
However, the film has a considerable amount of risqué encounters that will make most general audiences uncomfortable. While the intimacy is initially important to establish the basis and escalation of their relationship, the constant and repetitive nature of the explicit scenes becomes excessive, adding little intrinsic value to the storytelling. This volume of content, while often artfully managed, feels geared to titillate, making it a cheap thrill and unfortunate distraction.
The story takes a decisive turn when the young couple encounters their fork in the road, realizing marriage may not be so simple once enforcers and key stakeholders come out of the woodwork. From this point, Anora diverges into a comedy, with the vigorous sex receding in favour of an intercity manhunt for the young rapscallion.
More nuance rises to the surface as Ani finds herself polarized. This evolution of genre keeps the simple, “ghetto Romeo and Juliet” story continually turning over. The tension created by the glitz and grit, counterpoints of the two worlds, filters into the aesthetic, channeling something akin to Uncut Gems.
The film’s visual flair and racy appetite fuel its transformation into an offbeat caper. Through its sparse script, the dialogue and sparring feel natural, as if much of it were ad-libbed, a testament to the writing and the filmmaker’s ability to keep you transfixed on this oddity.
Anora is a bold, sweeping and almost experimental film with a number of memorable moments, yet it remains at an arm’s length. This buffer prevents a full emotional investment in the characters, stemming from the intricate and effusive nature of the storytelling. While Mikey Madison’s deeply committed performance, the film’s oxymoronic nature and its sheer unpredictability keep it fleet-footed and entertaining, the discomfort and overexposure of the sexual content is worrisome to the point of detracting from its overall value.
As attention-grabbing and sparkly as it may be, much of what sets it apart also counts against it, making this artful and suspenseful film feel absurd yet unfortunately restrained by its gaudy disposition. Speaking to class divisions and real-life fairy tales, its elusive and provocative nature maintain a strange tension – grounded in authenticity and yet superficial to the point of remaining just out of reach.
The bottom line: Entertaining
