Directed and written by: Sean Baker
Starring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan, Vincent Radwinsky, and Karren Karagulian
Runtime: 139 minutes
With a playful script and captivating performances, ‘Anora’ is Sean Baker’s most vivacious film
Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) proposes to Anora (Mikey Madison), and she boldly holds up her hand and politely declares, “Three carats.”
He responds, “What about four?”
For Ivan (also nicknamed Vanya), he won’t break a sweat to make such a sizable purchase, because he’s a billionaire, and Anora (also nicknamed Ani) has it the jackpot!
She’s in love, and her new fiancé has more money than some countries do.
Director/writer Sean Baker’s boy-meets-girl movie is an electric and turbulent exotic-dancer-meets-Russian-billionaire love story. Set in present-day New York City, Vanya dazzles Ani with seductive charm, and his freewheeling charisma and monetary excesses astonish her.
This dynamic duo disregards their safety belts on their wild rollercoaster affair.
Baker’s movies (“Tangerine” (2015), “The Florida Project” (2017), “Red Rocket” (2021)) usually live on society’s fringes, but this high-roller flick frequently resides in lavish spaces, but not always.
Our 23-year-old heroine is her sister’s roommate, and the siblings (barely) tolerate one another in their modest Brooklyn apartment adjacent to elevated train tracks. She works on the “wrong side of the tracks” as well. Ani dances at a strip club, and Baker reveals her daily work routines to encourage the male clientele for a personal assembly that could endure for a song or two or 10. These on-screen revelations, regarding Ani’s and the other performers’ work, aren’t X-rated, but the engagements will certainly make some audiences uncomfortable.
That’s by design.
However, while Ani relaxes in the dressing room, the club’s manager, Jimmy (Vincent Radwinsky), informs her that a young Russian guy (Vanya) entered the club. Since she speaks his native language, Jimmy asks/tells her to meet him. The playful, lively Vanya, 21, is attracted to Ani right away. She seems to appreciate his positive energy, but this encounter is purely business.
Famous last words because Vanya wants more than their initial club connection.
During the first act, Baker, cinematographer Drew Daniels, Madison, and Eydelshteyn delightfully overwhelm the audience during Ani and Vanya’s courtship with lush laughs and good vibes, which include an exuberant party, a getaway to a faraway vacation destination, and also personal, quality time in the bedroom.
Eydelshteyn and Madison feel entirely authentic as their attractive, engaging characters. Ani hasn’t caught breaks during her 20+ years on Planet Earth, but now, this damsel stares at one who stands before her. She’s cautious but wants “Prince Vanya” to be the real deal. So do we! Vanya, meanwhile, exudes an impulsive, immature, live-in-the-moment persona that’s infectious but also draws concern. Financially, his money supply seems endless, but will his carefree spending and spontaneity cause tangential setbacks?
These two “crazy kids” enjoy this wild ride. However, as objective audience observers, we must ask: How long will the frolicking, jubilant times last?
Baker and Madison develop so much goodwill with Ani during the first act that we become completely invested in following her path to a hopeful destiny. When those hopes are challenged, the script, supporting players, and Madison’s empathetic performance – over her attempts to hold onto this exuberant romance - offer compelling cinema during the following two acts that balance danger and humor, along with sobering gravitas.
Three supporting players (who will not be revealed in this review) materialize in the form of physical and bureaucratic human roadblocks to stifle Ani’s dreams. This trifecta of henchmen is dangerous, but Baker makes a terrific screenwriting decision by including ample buffoonery associated with them to temper their threat. In fact, one collaborator, Igor (Yura Borisov), feels empathy for Ani, and his journey with her raises curiosity, as their adversarial rapport begs for softer tones and mutual understanding.
Speaking of mutual understanding, in the end, will Ani and Vanya live happily ever after?
Hey, some lifelong relationships have endured on flimsier foundations, but there’s nothing flimsy about “Anora”, Sean Baker’s most vivacious film.
Jeff’s ranking
4/4 stars
