‘Anora’
The term ‘a star is born’ is thrown around quite a lot in the film industry. With a new generation of actors beginning to find their place, there is a lot of talent floating around. Although, I have never felt so passionate about that phrase until I left the cinema after seeing Anora.
Winning the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Anora follows a sex worker in Brooklyn, her name is Anora but she prefers Ani. She takes on a new client, Ivan, who is Russian and speaks mild English. He has a boatload of money, and when asked where he gets it from, he discreetly implies his father has a shady business, but she doesn’t ask too many questions. He eventually proposes to Ani so that he doesn’t have to go back to Russia. Ani gets caught up in the rich lifestyle and agrees to marry him, they are young, in love, and have no idea what is coming for them.
At its core, Anora is a Cinderella story about the fleeting American dream and how easy it is to be sucked into a so-called fairytale. Ani wants to escape her underwhelming life and has been tricked into believing she found her prince charming. It is a thrilling tale that is equal parts hilarious and sad, a balance that Sean Baker strikes so well. Baker has proved himself to be one of the greatest filmmakers currently working with his previous films (The Florida Project, Red Rocket) but he has reached new heights with this new film. Anora tackles many sociological themes such as sex, money, and class with directness and abrasiveness, not leaving any cards on the table. These themes intertwine incredibly to form a well-rounded film that will make you laugh, wince, and cry.
Now onto the star of the film, Mikey Madison. Baker wrote the script with Madison in mind, and it shows. While she has been in quite a few films prior to Anora, she hasn’t been given a chance to shine until now. Her performance is magnetic, I couldn’t get enough of her character and its clear Madison did everything she could to fully immerse herself in the world. She did months of research on the sex work community in Brooklyn, making sure that her portrayal was as respectful and accurate as possible. As a character, Ani is strong and does not give up easily. She fights for herself and for the people she loves, even if they don’t give her the same respect back. As the film progresses, she gets more and more vulnerable and eventually succumbs to those gut-wrenching emotions. The ending holds up a mirror to the beginning of the film, reflecting on what Ani has been through, and where she is now.
As all fairytale’s do, Anora showcases a girl with a dream. Except in this modern fable, there are countless walls standing in between Ani and her happy ending. All Ani desires is to be seen, and as the credits rolled I was left pondering this fact with a tear running down my face. As much as I want to gatekeep Sean Baker as our indie dude and Mikey Madison as our indie darling, there’s no way we can contain the magnitude of these talents.
