ANORA: 4 ½ STARS. “like watching plate spinning performers on Ed Sullivan.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Anora,” the Palme d’Or winning film from “The Florida Project” director Sean Baker, now playing in theatres, Brighton Beach sex worker Ani (Mikey Madison) becomes involved with the Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. Their initial transactional relationship quickly blossoms into a whirlwind romance and elopement. Her “Cinderella” story is turned upside down when Vanya’s powerful parents swoop in to force an annulment.
CAST: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan and Aleksei Serebryakov. Written, directed and edited by Sean Baker
REVIEW: Part screwball comedy, part fight for survival, “Anora” is a triumph of controlled chaos. As in his earlier films, “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket,” director Sean Baker keenly observes his characters with empathy and emotion in stories that examine money, class, and power.
But unlike his other movies, “Anora” constantly feels as though it is going to fly off its axis. Every scene, whether broadly comedic or heartbreaking, has a character-based urgency that propels the story. Baker’s ability to keep it all moving forward put me in the mind of watching plate spinning performers on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” It’s a film of remarkable energy and tension; one that keeps a lot of plates spinning without ever allowing the forward momentum of its anti-fairy tale to steamroll its characters.
Mikey Madison, best known to date as the oldest sibling on the sit com “Better Things” and being burned alive in both “Scream (5)” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” hands in a career re-defining performance as sex worker Anora a.k.a. Ani. An electric combination of tough-as-nails ferocity, self-assurance, desperation and poignant vulnerability, she is as compelling and charismatic a lead as we’ll see at the movies this year.
The film’s core, an extended set piece involving a city-wide hunt for Ani’s husband recalls the frenetic energy of “After Hours,” but the character building doesn’t stop when the action begins. A second scene-stealer, Yura Borisov as Igor, henchman for the Russian oligarch, emerges with a subtle but deeply felt and deeply comedic performance, tinged with an unexpected sweetness.
“Anora” is one of the best films of the year. An insightfully made look at the wealth divide, with elements of suspense and comedy, it never fails to entertain.
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