Love is a hustle.
Anora is a 2024 comedy drama film directed by Sean Baker, written by Sean Baker, produced by FilmNation Entertainment and Cre Film, and distributed by Neon. It stars Mikey Madison and Mark Eydelshteyn. It was nominated for and won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Film Editing, while also being nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
"I'm just gonna go chill in my mansion or whatever, you know, no big deal!" - Anora Mikheeva
Plot
Sex worker Anora "Ani" Mikheeva's life is turned upside down when she meets Ivan, the son of a Russian oligarch. After Ivan asks to marry her, Ani is thrown into a wild goose chase that pisses of Ivan's very rich parents.
The Sweet
I meant to see Anora before the Oscars, but didn't get around to it, so I felt like I missed out. But I did finally catch this year's Best Picture winner.
Anora is carried by Mikey Madison's performance. Madison's Oscar win generated some controversy because many people felt that Demi Moore should've won. I have also seen The Substance, and, while I think Demi Moore is great, I do think Madison deserved her win. She is so good at being this brash, energetic stripper who has both the immaturity of a young adult living in New York and the emotions of someone who goes through what she goes through. Madison is so the opposite of who Anora is in real life that it makes this performance all the more impressive. She just disappears into this character, and I think that one hundred percent merits an Academy Award.
Sean Baker is always good at representing the parts of America that are usually not given the Hollywood treatment. The Florida Project gave us a very accurate portrayal of poverty in the shadow of Disney World, and Anora gives us a glance at the lives of workers in the sex industry. It treats them with such respect and kindness while showing how many people in the world view them as inferior people. Although she is a pretty brazen character, Ani is really likable, and when we see the way she is treated by the richer, higher class, it is infuriating. Supposedly, they shot some of these scenes with real people and in real situations, and you can tell that in the final product. I mean that in a positive way, because it adds to the real feeling of the film.
The film also does a really good job of balancing comedy and drama. It feels like a very realistic portrayal of what this insane situation would be if it actually happened, and that creates a great balance between funny moments and sad moments. Anora herself is a very funny character, and the way she interacts with some of the Russians is just hilarious. Although he is the absolute worst, Ivan can also be very funny. But because it feels so real, you also feel the betrayal and the unfairness that Anora is treated with, and it really hits when the movie zones in on that aspect of it.
I also love this movie's ending. I really think the realism carries the plot and the tone of the film, and Baker does an excellent job of making sure that the ending feels as authentic as the rest of the film. The entire movie is realistic, but the story is very outrageous. It feels like the craziest story that your grandpa told you when you were eight years old. The ending reels in all of the craziness and focuses on how this entire experience has affected Anora, and Mikey Madison is able to harness all the emotions that she possibly can to deliver an incredibly moving and powerful final scene. It doesn't lean on the Hollywood happy ending: it gives us a realistic, heavy final image that will stick with you and motivate you to not judge sex workers or anyone for how they make a living.
This movie is also really good at escalating the stakes and tension without feeling like its straying from the realism and authenticity. The story's crescendo feels natural, and, although it's insane and unpredictable, it feels like it makes sense. It is set up so well and gives you a sense of stakes without really showing the antagonists. We barely see Ivan's parents. We don't really know why they are rich or who they are, but we know just enough about them to get an idea of who they are. That is really good writing to be able to have compelling antagonists and a natural rise in intensity and stakes without giving much explanation for why all of this is happening.
The Sour
I honestly don't really have a ton of negatives. I do think that the movie can be a bit tough to swallow, especially near the back half, but that's not really a negative: it's more of just a note. I do think that the characters can be frustrating at certain points. Ivan is, as I said before, the frickin' worst and I do not buy that Anora would actually believe that they are in love, but that's just a minor nitpick. This was a great movie that absolutely deserved its Best Picture win.
Final Thoughts and Score
Anora is a fantastic, authentic-feeling story that gives Mikey Madison the space to cement herself as one of the best young actresses working today.
I am going Sweet here. Age range is 17+.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great)
Savory (Good)
Sour (Bad)
Moldy (Terrible)
"Anora"
Fun Factor: 8.5/10
Acting: 9.5/10
Story: 9/10
Characters: 9.5/10
Quality: 9.5/10
Directed by Sean Baker
Rated R for strong sexual content, language, minor violence, thematic elements
Released on October 18, 2024
2 hours and 19 minutes
Mikey Madison as Anora "Ani" Mikheeva
Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan Zakharov
Yura Borisov as Igor
Karren Karaguilan as Toros
Vache Tovmasyan as Garnik
Aleksei Serebryakov as Nikolai Zakharov
Darya Ekamasova as Galina Zakharov
Luna Sofia Miranda as Lulu
Lindsey Normington as Diamond
Vincent Radwinsky as Jimmy
Anton Bitter as Tom
Ivy Wolk as Crystal
Ella Rubin as Vera
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