Sean Baker has made a name for himself making films that focus on marginalized people, namely immigrants and sex workers. Across his entire body of work, he looks into the lives of everyday people that the world frequently misunderstands or ostracizes, and examines them with an observant and empathetic eye. Since his breakout with 2015’s Tangerine, Baker has garnered widespread acclaim and has emerged as one of our most humanistic directors working today. While he consistently works with smaller budgets, it feels like the scale of his films have been gradually increasing, while still maintaining his distinct vision and style. Baker continues this climb with his newest film, Anora, offering what might be his biggest and most cinematic film to date. Keeping in line with his other work, the film focuses on a young sex worker and views her life through Baker’s insightful and intimate lens. With beautiful cinematography, assured direction, and a star-making performance from Mikey Madison, Anora admirably continues Baker’s mission to destigmatize sex work and is a stunning masterwork from start to finish.
Ani (Mikey Madison) is an exotic dancer and sex worker living in Brooklyn. One night at Headquarters, the upscale strip club she works at, she meets Vanya, the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. Vanya quickly takes a liking to Ani, and she starts to like him too. Eventually, the two go to Las Vegas and end up eloping. When word gets back to Vanya’s family, they are furious, and try to get the marriage annulled. Ani soon realizes that she’s in for more than she bargained for, and finds herself fighting for her and Vanya’s marriage, and the new life she has begun.
One of my favorite things across all of Sean Baker’s work is how he captures the subjects of his films. He never comes from a place of judgment, and instead allows his characters and their actions speak for themselves. This is especially true here, as the film centers wholly on Ani and shows the humanity that lies within her. Baker also operates under the knowledge that many viewers will be seeing this film with the added baggage of their own preconceived notions of sex workers, and uses that to his advantage. He portrays sex work with a frankness that demystifies much of the misgivings and sensationalism commonly ascribed to it, and ends up painting a more honest picture of it in the process.
This ends up being incredibly important to the overall film, considering that it seems to mostly be concerned with the idea of fantasy versus reality. There is a fantasy element inherently found in sex work, and the film plays with this in an interesting way. Much of the first section of the film has this alluring aura to it that draws the viewer in as Ani and Vanya’s relationship develops. It almost comes across like a rom-com for much of its first act, but then begins to sink deeper and deeper into reality as the film goes on. The big turning point arrives when we meet Vanya’s handler, Toros and his two henchmen. Once they arrive, the film becomes darker and we see Ani wrestling with the gravity of the situation she’s in. It is in this section that we see how Ani has become wrapped up in a fantasy of her own, as she has embraced the lavish lifestyle that has come with marrying Vanya. She views it as an escape from the life she had been living, and is dismayed at the thought of giving it up.
As the film goes on, it becomes clear that Ani is constantly avoiding her own reality, down to rejecting her given name, Anora. We see very little of her life outside of work and her relationship with Vanya throughout the film, and that feels like it is intentional. When Ani is confronted with real problems and her real life, she isn’t fully sure how to take them. She tends to change the subject when asked about her past, and desperately clings to anything that keeps her from engaging with the real aspects of her life. Much like how many people turn to sex workers to live out fantasies, Ani turns to her job and the mystique it affords her as a way to push away the reality she lives in. This is perfectly punctuated in the film’s final scene, which shows Ani at her most vulnerable. I won’t spoil it here, but I will say that it is a heartbreaking moment that shows her confronted with genuine human emotion and connection, and ends the film on a powerful note. This divide between fantasy and reality is ever present in the film, and is so integral to it as a whole.
Some might say that the script is a little thin, but I feel like that’s selling it a little short. The dialogue in this film feels fresh and natural, and the way Sean Baker structures the plot is quite effective. I can admit that the plot is quite simple and that certain aspects feel a bit glossed over, but I don’t think these hurt the film all that much. In fact, the plot’s simplicity helps what we are seeing feel more real, and it doesn’t overcomplicate the narrative with extraneous details or plotlines. This is a common thread through most of Baker’s work, as his scripts don’t have much on the page, but provide a good skeleton for him and his cast and crew to build off of. This is certainly the case with Anora, as the screenplay is a solid foundation for the film, but isn’t exactly its strongest asset.
I must bring up Drew Daniels’s impressive cinematography, which gives the film a dynamic quality. He uses close-ups especially well, and utilizes pans and zooms throughout in a very effective way. Daniels is able to match Baker’s more naturalist style, but still has a rather active method of camera work that fits this film so well. The film’s moments of stillness are also quite solid and beautiful, and allows the viewer to sit with certain things before kicking back into action. I also like how the camerawork and the overall visual palette of the film shifts over the course of the film, from the heavy use of colors in the earlier part of the film, to the more muted tones used when the film gets more serious. Daniels never disappoints with his cinematography, and this might be some of his best work yet.
Sean Baker always does a great job of getting great performances from his actors, and there are a number of great ones in this film. Out of the supporting cast, the biggest standout has got to be Yura Borisov as Igor, one of the henchmen sent to track down Ani and Vanya. Borisov has this presence that instantly draws you to him, and he is perhaps the most interesting character in the film outside of Ani. He is especially great when acting opposite Mikey Madison, and brings a bit of unexpected warmth to the back half of the film. I also really enjoyed Karren Karagulian’s performance as Toros, Vanya’s handler. Karagulian has this commanding quality in his performance that makes him impossible to ignore, and he feels so locked in throughout the entire film. Mark Eydelshteyn is also quite good as Vanya, coming across quite charming near the beginning, but ultimately revealing his character’s immaturity and shallow nature over the course of the film. He isn’t given as much to do as some of the other characters, but he makes every moment count and still makes an impact.
Mikey Madison is someone who I have been a fan of ever since I first saw her on the TV show Better Things several years back. She has since appeared in films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the Scream reboot, but her turn here is sure to help her ascend to a new level of stardom, as she is simply phenomenal as Ani. Madison is completely in the pocket every step of the way, and practically disappears in the role. She has a strong, magnetic energy throughout, and gives one of the most compelling lead performances I’ve seen in a long time. She really gets to show her range here, as she runs the gamut of the emotions her character feels throughout the film, as well as different levels in terms of her performance. She has some great moments where she is going big, but also she has some smaller, subtler moments that really stood out to me. It is such a full-bodied performance that blew me away from minute one, and is easily one of the best performances of the year, if not the absolute best.
Anora is an incredible genre-blending character study that continues Sean Baker’s impeccable track record as a filmmaker. The film is funny, anxiety inducing, and a little heartbreaking, and is a wonderfully humanistic portrait of a young sex worker. Mikey Madison’s performance is absolutely stunning, and she definitely deserves every bit of praise she has been getting. This is easily one of Sean Baker’s best films to date, and it feels like he is continuing to slowly but surely level up as a filmmaker with this one. Anora is the type of film that grabs you from the outset and doesn’t let go until the end, and makes for a fascinating, spellbinding journey.
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