London Film Festival 2024 – Anora ★★★★

Released: 1 November 2024

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn

Sean Baker has long established himself as a writer and director dedicated to telling the stories of societal outcasts. From the fast-talking Mikey Saber of Red Rocket to the resourceful Halley in The Florida Project, each of Baker’s features depicts characters – usually involved in sex work – seizing the opportunity to transition beyond their current circumstances. Maintaining this thread is Anora, as it showcases the best of Baker’s observational and stylistic talents. Billed as a Cinderella story, this riotous yet realistic romantic tale is the crowd-pleaser that snapped up the Palme d’Or Cannes this year. 

We meet Ani (Mikey Madison) – the titular Anora – an exotic dancer at HQ, a Manhattan strip club. Music blares with throbbing bass as Ani and her colleagues writhe in the laps of a series of gentlemen in chairs. The girls trade easy backroom banter seen in any regular 9-5. Ani is then introduced to Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the young son of a Russian billionaire. Tasked with showing him a good time, Ivan quickly becomes enamoured and pays for more of her time. Ani is soon catapulted full speed into the extravagant lifestyle of Ivan and his fellow rich kids. Large mansions, private jets and videogames – with a vape never far from reach. On a ketamine-fuelled whim, Ivan takes the group to Vegas where he and Ani marry. Yet their wedded bliss is short-lived when Ivan’s parents find out and send his handlers to have the marriage annulled. 

Baker continues his streak of casting excellence in Mikey Madison. Prior to Anora, Madison is perhaps best known for her small yet notable roles in 2019’s One Upon A Time in Hollywood and 2022’s Scream. As Ani, Madison captivates in every scene and it’s a Cinderella narrative in itself to see Madison give such a commanding performance when given the spotlight and material.  

Anora’s strength mainly lies in its deft tonal balance. Despite the fast pace of events, Baker takes time to craft Ani and Ivan’s courtship. Wisely, he avoids weighing down the audience by trying to decipher Ani’s motives for marrying Ivan; instead, the whirlwind of excitement makes it understandable when she chooses to take his lovelorn proclamations at face value. As the fairytale hits a speedbump and Ivan’s handlers Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Igor (Yura Borisov) storm his mansion there are several violent and uncomfortable scenes, yet the henchmen exude such ‘bad-day-at-the-office’ energy that fits of laughter are unavoidable. 

Along with its seamless genre-blending, Anora brings a true sense of authenticity despite the bombastic nature of the union at its centre. Madison displays a groundedness, giving Ani a spiky yet sweet demeanour that renders the final third of the film all the more devastating. Baker’s fly-on-the-wall approach also achieves this end; best reflected when Ani first gives Ivan a private dance at home. Madison performs all manner of alluring poses and tricks, yet the camera never leers or lingers. We see a young woman going through the motions of her job, a dignity not always afforded to depictions of sex work on screen. 

A rollercoaster ride that bubbles with fierce intensity, Anora is undoubtedly one of Baker’s best films, proving yet again that Ani, and by extension, those like her, are characters worth exploring with both humour and compassion.