'Anora' Review: This Pulsating Palme d'Or Winner Is A Singular Marvel [TIFF 2024]
SEAN BAKER’s LATEST and most explosive film is absolutely thrilling with momentum for days.
Sean Baker has made a name for himself as one of the leading voices in American independent cinema over the span of the last decade or so. His films have often featured sex, or sex-workers in prominent roles, and his latest, ‘Anora, is no different in that regard, but it is a whole other ball game in terms of its specific story and scope. The film stars Mikey Madison the titular Anora, (although she goes by Ani) who is a Russian-American sex worker based in New Jersey, whose life is turned upside down when she meets Ivan, (newcomer Mark Eydelshteyn) a rich young Russian man who seeks her services.
After a brief encounter at the strip club, Anora and Ivan’s relationship blossoms, as the two become exclusively engaged, and later, actually engaged. Baker is able to capture a sense of kinetic wonder in this adult, warped version of a Cinderella story, between the innate comedy and absurdity of the relationship and its origin. Madison and Eydelshteyn’s chemistry is palpable, and Baker lets the first act of the film glide comfortably on their dynamic.
This sort of ‘honeymoon phase’ of the story is brilliantly upended in the second act, by a series of twists which make Anora question her newfound relationship, and the intentions, or lack-thereof even, behind it. What follows is an uber stressful, wild-goose chase full of chaotic long-takes, mishaps, and vulgar, unpredictably volatile comedy. Baker has mastered the flow and rhythm of what this film needs to be, and it is no more abundantly clear here than in the second act. Harkening on classic screwball comedies by way of the Safdies, it’s able to induce so much tension and so much laughter, both of which the film has no shortage of. It’s ostensibly Baker’s most audacious and ‘big’ film, but this transition does not feel jarring at all. All of his trademark elements are prevalent, infused into this wonderfully kinetic narrative. Baker himself has admitted to enjoying the thrill of independent film and the ability to have complete creative control, with Anora feeling far more ambitious than your average studio comedy. Despite sex and sex work being very prominent, Baker uses these scenes as means to an end, never feeling overly gratuitous and always in service of the plot and tone.
Sean Baker has made a name for himself as one of the leading voices in American independent cinema over the span of the last decade or so. His films have often featured sex, or sex-workers in prominent roles, and his latest, ‘Anora’, is no different in that regard, but it is a whole other ball game in terms of its specific story and scope. The film stars Mikey Madison the titular Anora, (although she goes by Ani) who is a Russian-American sex worker based in New Jersey, whose life is turned upside down when she meets Ivan, (newcomer Mark Eydelshteyn) a rich young Russian man who seeks her services.
After a brief encounter at the strip club, Anora and Ivan’s relationship blossoms, as the two become exclusively engaged, and later, actually engaged. Baker is able to capture a sense of kinetic wonder in this adult, warped version of a Cinderella story, between the innate comedy and absurdity of the relationship and its origin. Madison and Eydelshteyn’s chemistry is palpable, and Baker lets the first act of the film glide comfortably on their dynamic.
This sort of ‘honeymoon phase’ of the story is brilliantly upended in the second act, by a series of twists which make Anora question her newfound relationship, and the intentions, or lack-thereof even, behind it. What follows is an uber stressful, wild-goose chase full of chaotic long-takes, mishaps, and vulgar, unpredictably volatile comedy. Baker has mastered the flow and rhythm of what this film needs to be, and it is no more abundantly clear here than in the second act. Harkening on classic screwball comedies by way of the Safdies, it’s able to induce so much tension and so much laughter, both of which the film has no shortage of. It’s ostensibly Baker’s most audacious and ‘big’ film, but this transition does not feel jarring at all. All of his trademark elements are prevalent, infused into this wonderfully kinetic narrative. Baker himself has admitted to enjoying the thrill of independent film and the ability to have complete creative control, with Anora feeling far more ambitious than your average studio comedy. Despite sex and sex work being very prominent, Baker uses these scenes as means to an end, never feeling overly gratuitous and always in service of the plot and tone.
However, in sight of the absurdity and profane nature of the story, character does not fall behind at the wayside of this wild journey. Though Anora finds herself in a plot far bigger than her own imagining, Baker still focalizes the film around her, giving Madison enough agency to be bold, and gives Anora agency to affect and change the plot around her. Crazy things aren’t happening solely for shock value, with character always being a driving force. Even the more seemingly one-note Eastern European ‘henchmen’ have many individual moments or lines of dialogue in which realism is able to seamlessly peer out. The performances from Karren Karagulian, Yuriy Borisov, and Vache Tovmasyan are as crucial to the film’s success as Madison’s bravado. The three, relative newcomers to the American film scene, are wholly unselfish with their performances, buying into the film’s comedic tone and realist conflicts in equal measure, while delivering small elements of authentic individuality, which pay off in spades.
To describe any more of the plot itself is a disservice to the wild ride that it is. Mikey Madison is truly fantastic as Anora, in what’s sure to be a star-making turn. Her performance feels extremely lived-in, and very easy to empathize with at every turn. It would be no shock to hear her name much more in this coming awards season. Likewise, Baker is someone with a strong body of work behind him which at this point, culminates in Anora, for which his contemporaries have awarded him the prestigious Palme D’or prize for arguably his most straightforward and universally pallatable film to date, which loses none of his signature touch, and these factors are sure to also translate into awards season.