Baker is no stranger to themes and discussions on sex work, from Tangerine to Red Rocket. With Anora, he once again offers us an energetic and wild ride that defies simple genre labels, effortlessly combining comedy with exquisitely crafted, character-driven drama that places those who sit on the margins of society front and centre. Anora screened at BFI London Film Festival and is now playing in cinemas nationwide.
Hollywood is full of stories about knights in shining armour who whisk women in need of love, care or safety off their feet. These classic stories play to age-old stereotypes of wealthy men arriving in the nick of time for a girl who needs saving, either from poverty, themselves or society. We know these stories are rooted in sexism, age-old beliefs of men as saviours, and pure fantasy, yet over the years, we have gobbled them up like delicious hors d’oeuvres at a lavish buffet. It’s about time someone upturned the buffet table from which we have been feasting, and that person is Sean Baker with his Palme d’Or-winning Anora.
Baker’s stunning movie shouts “fuck you” to the simple Cinderella stories of the past with an electrifying comedy-drama as real and gritty as its New York location. Anora is no fairytale or Pretty Woman-esque romantic comedy; it’s an electric tale of sex, transactional love, escape and youthful fantasy vs stark reality.
Like another stunning 2024 film, Sebastian, Sean Baker’s Anora not only explores the world of sex work from a fresh perspective but also joyously takes an axe to the notion of wealthy knights in shining armour. Baker is no stranger to themes and discussions on sex work, from Tangerine to Red Rocket. With Anora, he once again offers us an energetic and wild ride that defies simple genre labels, effortlessly combining comedy with exquisitely crafted, character-driven drama that places those who sit on the margins of society front and centre.
Ani, played by the superb Mikey Madison, is a Brooklyn-born lap dancer working a Manhattan strip club where she confidently plays the required game with each man flashing their cash for her attention, even moonlighting on the side with some occasional sex work.
When a Russian kid, Vanya, the fabulous Mark Eydelshteyn, arrives at the club carrying the cash of his wealthy mother and father, Ani sees an opportunity for some extra work, and soon Ani and Vanya are in a transactional relationship that suits them on different levels. Vanya is shouting “fuck you” to his parents in Russia, and Ani sees the opportunity to finally leave the lap dance club and enjoy a life of luxury in the arms of an innocent, immature, horny and gentle kid. So when Vanya suggests they get married on a drug and alcohol-fuelled trip to Las Vegas, Ani is all in. The trouble is, Vanya’s mum and dad are not; in fact, they don’t even know their wayward son has got married until it hits the tabloid papers in Russia. It’s a situation that needs to be addressed promptly.
So, Mum and Dad send their local fixer and Vanya’s apparent chaperone, Toros (Karren Karagulian), along with his two goons, the clumsy Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and the sensitive and misunderstood Igor (Yura Borisov), to sort things out. But Ani isn’t about to fold to their demand for a quick divorce, even if Vanya has gone AWOL at the mention of his parents flying out to New York to deal with his apparent stupidity.
There is no sexual violence or hate in Baker’s world; instead, he offers us an immature, spoilt and horny boy, desperate to escape his parent’s control yet tied to their every wish and command, and a savvy, spritely, smart yet inwardly vulnerable young woman searching for something we all need, financial security and comfort. One knows they live in an imaginary world fuelled by their parents’ money, and the other knows that opportunities for escape are rare and must be grabbed and clung to, no matter the cost.
There is beauty, frivolity and genuine love in Vanya and Ani’s brief relationship of convenience and fantasy. But like the drugs, booze, and sex that fuel their connection, the comedown is hot and heavy. Madison and Eydelshteyn are utterly captivating in a youthful dance of desire, sex, transactional love, and escape. Every minute they are on screen is a cinematic treat as they offer us a masterclass in performance through Baker’s complex and beautiful writing and direction.
Like all of Baker’s work to date, Anora is a divine character study that revels in its realness. It is, without any doubt, one of the year’s best films and Baker’s best in class.
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