Anora - Review: Pretty Woman

Making films can be tricky. Making films about marginalized people even more so, given Hollywood’s predisposed nature to “save” those it deems not up to “normal” standards. Writer/director Sean Baker (“The Florida Project,” “Red Rocket”) has been making films about such people for decades now, and he’s one of the best as doing something that should be obvious: zeroing in on them as real, three-dimensional, developed people instead of caricatures in their profession. His latest film may just be his magnum opus.

“Anora” follows the titular character, who mostly goes by Ani, played by Mikey Madison (“Better Things,” “Scream (2022)”). She’s a Brooklyn based exotic dancer and prostitute who finds herself meeting and spending time with Vanya Zakharov, played by Mark Eydelshteyn (“The Land of Sasha,” “One Hundred Years Ahead”), the son of a Russian oligarch living in New York in his father’s mansion. Soon after their meeting, the pair go on an impromptu trip to Las Vegas where they decide to tie the knot after a few weeks long relationship. Vanya’s parents soon learn of the marriage and demand it be annulled, sending Toros, played by Karren Karagulian (“Red Rocket,” “The Florida Project”), who employs Igor, played by Yura Borisov (“Captain Volkonogov Escaped,” “Compartment No. 6”), and Garnick, played by Vache Tovmasyan (“Stone Cage,” “Golden School”), to get them to agree. 
Like all of Baker’s films before, there’s a strong focus here on making these characters feel like real people.  As a result, many of them may not necessarily feel like “good” people, but Baker’s script and the talent of his cast really help this misadventure come alive with fantastic results. It’s an engrossing movie, one where you get sucked in from almost the first minute and find yourself glued to the screen until the credits role.

Madison is absolutely electric. This is her film and not once does she ever waver from a performance full of fire and personality. She melts into the role, making you curse out, pity, and fall in love with Anora herself multiple times throughout. Eydelshteyn plays the man-child role of Vanya a bit too well, but he also straddles the line between being a character that is a constant source of eyerolls and pity, and one you can genuinely feel bad for by the time things are all done. Tovmasyan and Karagulian, the latter a mainstay in Baker’s films, have a wonderful chemistry, bordering on the kind of farcical goons you might see in a “Three Stooges” film. Borisov, meanwhile, is the film’s secret weapon; initially introduced as just as much of a bumbling goon as Tovmasyan and Karagulian, his character ends up becoming the small, sweet, secretive beating heart of the film’s second half. His chemistry with Madison is quietly electric, and the pair balance off each other to great effect, resulting in a great and unexpected turn for his character by the end of things.

Baker’s keen eye for pacing and cinematography keeps the entire story moving, while also highlighting the low-light neighborhoods of New York. There’s a fun back and forth to the cinematography, with Drew Daniels (“Red Rocket,” “It Comes at Night”) switching from showcasing the mansion and various spots Anora and Vanya travel under fun contexts to later, retracing those steps in the cold light of the gray New York winter. It’s a subtly gorgeous film that also works to visually showcase the distinct places in her life Anora has moved through so quickly.

Baker’s own editing style helps his films feel quick and lively without betraying the realism at the center. For as incompetent as Toros and Garnick can be, they never feel like cartoon versions of themselves. Anora is fiercely independent and outspoken, but she doesn’t feel like a caricature of various other stripper/exotic dancer characters. Even Vanya, as immature and childish as he is, doesn’t feel like that’s all there is to him. It means the resulting film isn’t just some farce about a stripper’s bad short marriage. This is a story about Anora, a real person, who lives and breathes through the screen and lights up this world.

Baker’s latest film might just be his best yet. In a career full of fantastic films, that’s quite an accomplishment, but here his latest tale has a white-hot firecracker of a lead at its center. Madison truly takes over the screen, catapulting herself into the best actress race, playing Anora with glee and honesty. The surrounding cast is excellent in their own right and only elevates her performance. It’s a truly wild adventure, edited and shot with perfection. Baker has yet again delivered a film that deserves to be called one of the best of the year, with no asterisks necessary. 5/5