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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Filmmaker Sean Baker’s romantic comedy-drama film, Anora, starring Mikey Madison has been playing in theaters for over a month now. Starting with a limited release on October 18th and then a wider release in the following weeks, the film has shown various audiences what its lead actor is capable of. Anora runs around twenty minutes longer than, say, Baker’s prior film, The Florida Project; yet, its runtime can be justified by the screenplay’s extravagant narration within a basic three-act structure.
Anora is written and directed by Sean Baker.
In this review, I will discuss Anora. As this article’s title suggests, no spoilers will be present.
Discussion
On a technical level, Anora is flawless work. Director of Photography Drew Daniels (It Comes at Night, HBO’s Euphoria Season 1, Waves, Red Rocket, Prime Video’s Outer Range Season 1 and Swarm) captures every single moment of 23-year-old protagonist Anora “Ani” Mikheeva’s (Madison) ecosphere, from her stripper job in New York City to her small living space in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn to her search for apparent love in the form of wealthy 20-year-old Russian boy, Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn). The cinematography frames characters in picturesque shots and close-up viewpoints to study every angle and aspect of their presence in each scene.
Music supervisor Matthew Hearson-Smith helps arrange a rather unforgettable soundtrack from the first shot, which starts with “Greatest Day” by Take That. “Drip” by Brooke Candy featuring Erika Jayne is another memorable track. It’s a lustful song that enhances the on-screen dynamic between Mikheeva and Zakharov in an almost fantastical manner. Costume designer Jocelyn Pierce (I Care a Lot, Hit Man) and hair and makeup department heads Justine Sierakowski and Annie Johnson, respectively, do a tremendous deal at transforming Madison into a princess-like figure. I love the juxtaposition of Mikheeva at work with Mikheeva riding public transportation home, her hair and makeup undone.
Production designer Stephen Phelps and art director Ryan Scott Fitzgerald make the film visually palatable. The Headquarters nightclub, the Zakharov family mansion, and Coney Island are all grand Brooklyn set pieces that keep the story in place, almost as if they are characters themselves.
Baker’s Screenwriting
Anora focuses on how Mikheeva navigates her way in and out of these different spheres as well as how she composes herself when they collide. For one thing, Vanya Zakharov is a laughably horrible male companion. I hate how he holds a PlayStation 5 controller as if it were an Atari, I hate his cockiness, and I most especially hate how he runs from his problems. In that regard, Zakharov and those around him are excellent foils to Mikheeva, who wears her pride like armor.
The three-act structure is a commendable breakdown of the film’s plot and a disintegration of Mikheeva’s appeal to others. In the first act, the love interests meet, and Baker guides viewers through snippets and montages of their growing relationship, involving intimacy-heavy sequences. The second act is the longest of the three acts. It takes place within a full day once news of the couple’s “fraud marriage” reaches Armenian handler Toros (Karren Karagulian), his brother Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), Russian henchman Igor (Yura Borisov), and Zakharov’s parents Nikolai (Aleksei Serebryakov) and Galina (Darya Ekamasova).
The resolution to the external conflict is intriguing. It’s like an Uncut Gems-like labyrinth to get to the end of the film filled with obstacles and hurdles that the lead characters have no other choice than to run into. Anora‘s final act, then, presents the aftermath of the chaos. Here, many audience members lock in their appreciation for Igor. Although, more on that later.
Society on Sex Workers
Out of the few concrete notes that I’ve made, thematically speaking Anora is and always has been about a window into sex work. As is with everyone else, Mikheeva is a human being at the end of the day. Certain words and actions flip a switch in her head, including the demeaning way in which characters label her an escort, a hooker, a whore, and other degrading terms. The protagonist is Othered into a box, confined to limiting qualities that seemingly define who she is. However, these qualities are not all that comprise her ethos as a woman, a working-class individual, and a Westerner. The biggest win for Mikheeva is how she dominates in a world of close-minded people.
In the world that we live in today, especially one in which political figures and regular people engage with women of specific professions, seeing sex workers as inferior has become commonplace in social communities. The United States of America is, in Baker’s case, a capitalist mega-machine where bodies are labored to generate an income. This doesn’t just happen in sex work but also in workplaces where movement is a major factor in driving the machines within the mega-machine, e.g. hotel management, where an establishment must constantly maintain its appearance and shape to satisfy guests.
Performances and Character Developments
As the eponymous character, Madison represents the brains, the beauty, and frankly, the brawn of the film. Her memorization of not just lines of English but that of Russian, along with her constant code-switching, makes for an iconic female character, notably in the romantic comedy-drama cross-genre. While the character initially prefers not to hold conversations in Russian, Mikheeva eventually places herself in an environment inundated by the Russian language with ease. Madison’s preparation for the role pays off so well, from the code-switching to the stripper persona and even down to her character’s Brooklyn accent.
Borisov’s Igor is a fine reflection of Mikheeva. Whereas Madison’s character is surrounded by ethos, logos, pathos, and even the kairos of her circumstances, Igor holds a mirror to her world and reminds her that she isn’t alone. This Russian henchman is perhaps the only other likable character in Anora. He’s calm and collected, never angered, and possesses humanity not existent in other characters.
Final Thoughts on Anora
Jealousy is a disease!
Anora “Ani” Mikheeva (Mikey Madison)
Anora is one of 2024’s better films thanks to its lead actor carrying the narrative from the opening euphoric shot to the closing emotional shot. Like her Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood co-star Margot Robbie, Madison brilliantly sells herself on a Brooklyn accent. Her Russian tongue is amazing, but that is only the tip of the iceberg of what she endures as the protagonist. Baker’s film earned its status as an award-winner, and there will undoubtedly be more to come in the near future.
5/5 stars
Anora is now playing in theaters!
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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
