Brace yourself for Anora, the latest display of emotional chaos from writer/director/editor/truth-teller Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket). Part of Fantastic Fest, Anora is the story of Ani, real name Anora (in a breakthrough performance by Mikey Madison, from FX’s Better Things and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood). Ani is a stripper and occasional sex worker living in Brooklyn who has attitude for days and isn't afraid to use her uncanny ability to shift from sweet and seductive to violent and vengeful on a dime. You’ve truly never seen anything like it, and I’m not sure all of you are prepared to.
For the first few minutes of the movie, Baker just follows her around her job, attempting to sell lap dances or lure her clients into a private room, all in the name of making money and maybe hitting the lottery with a man who wants to see her outside the club. A 20-something Russian named Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) comes in and is so taken by Ani (largely because she’s the only dancer who speaks or understands any amount of Russian) that he does just that. We actually are allowed to see their relationship grow, and they seem to fit together (at least physically) almost perfectly. He and his friends decide to take a trip to Las Vegas one weekend and Ani tags along, only to have Ivan spontaneously propose to her while there.
To make matters more complicated, they get married immediately and return to New York a licensed married couple, a fact that he keeps from his parents for very good reason. His father is a Russian oligarch who has handlers in the states who do nothing but keep an eye on Ivan and bail him out of trouble when necessary. Heading this team is Toro (Karren Karagulian), a priest who doesn’t hesitate to get violent if it means protecting Ivan. His two hench-dudes are Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Igor (Yura Borisov), who are assigned various tasks involving Ani in the aftermath of Ivan running away the minute they show up and leaving Ani in their clutches. This isn’t as bad as it sounds, since they need her on their side and agree to annul the marriage before Ivan’s parents arrive in the states in about 24 hours.
Up until this point, Madison has played Ani as agreeable, sweet, charming, and completely turned on by Ivan’s every mood or action. But once he abandons her and leaves her in the hands of these thugs, the real Anora shows up and she’s a shrieking beast who will claw, bite, and otherwise wail on someone who tries to lay a hand on her. It’s a sight to behold. Once the goons explain the situation to her and more or less let her go, the four of them hop in a car and drive through New York at night, looking for Ivan wherever he has a history—restaurants, clubs, you name it. Toro goes person to person with a photo of Ivan, looking for this scared little rabbit who is trying desperately not to get found.
Scorsese’s After Hours immediately comes to mind, as Baker treats us to short vignettes highlighting the boroughs of New York and all of their seedy culture. It’s the best kind of road movie, and during the course of the evening, Igor emerges from his quiet soldier persona and turns into something of a protector of Anora, once he realizes she really did love Ivan and wanted to stay married to him. She goes through the entire evening thinking Ivan feels the same way and will stand up to his parents once they arrive, but we suspect he’s a spineless jellyfish from the minute he bolts.
But all roads in Anora lead back to Madison and her powerhouse performance as a young woman slightly ashamed of her roots, where she calls home, and how much she’s struggling to bring in a little money every week. As much as she loved Ivan, she also recognizes their marriage as a payday of the highest order. Madison's performance is layered and nuanced when it needs to be, with the understanding that Ani has a sledgehammer hidden behind her back.
Cinematographer Drew Daniels shoots with a real eye for understanding whether a moment requires a tight close-up or needs to take everything in with a static long shot. Things get chaotic at times, but Baker is good at making certain the action isn’t messy just to be messy; there’s a purpose, and that purpose usually involves Madison flipping on the afterburners and going for it. Anora is a movie loaded with energy, passion, heartbreak, and thrills, often all in the same scene. This is without question one of the best films you will see in 2024.
The film opens theatrically in Chicago on October 25, including at the Music Box Theatre, where it will screen in 35mm.
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