Anora can be best described as a sweeping romance and a chaotic screwball comedy wrapped into one. There’s tumultuous highs as the film wraps itself around the drug-induced, money throwing, party lifestyle that Mark Eydelshteyn’s Ivan Zacharov surrounds himself in like a warm blanket on a cold night. But also, there’s the harsh realities and cold distance that comes with dealing with a family of oligarch’s who, tradition says, only do things one way. And at the center of it is Anora, or Ani as she likes to be called. Led by a masterful breakout performance from Mikey Madison, who may best be known for her work in Scream 5 or in a small but memorable role Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Ani is a stripper from Brooklyn that works hard and treats sex as her tool, not out of passion, but out necessity to survive. This is her job after all, and she’s good at it. We see that from the magnificent opening scene that montages her hustle in just one night at the club, scored to a fantastic remix of “Greatest Day” by Britpop boy band Take That. But Ani’s life is little more than her hustle. She has no time for daytime activities. She lives with her sister and spends most days sleeping in preparation for her long shifts at the club.
Contrast that with Ivan’s existence, and the differences are stark. Ivan is little more than a immature man-child who spends his time and his parent’s money partying as much as possible. In between those times, he relaxes in his parent’s luxurious mansion, playing video games and ignoring life’s responsibilities. So, when Ani and Ivan meet in the film’s opener, it makes for what seems to be a wonderful whirlwind romance full of hope and idealism for all the good life has. For a while, we do see this too. Ivan spends more and more money for more and more of Ani’s time and the two begin to bond. This comes to a head when the couple and their friends fly, on a whim, to Las Vegas.
There, amidst plenty of drugs, alcohol, partying and gambling, Ivan proposes marriage to Ani. But, while Ani believes him to be genuine, Ivan can only think of one thing: escaping the reality that he is being sent back to Russia to work for his parents and leaving his lavish lifestyle. It’s here where the cracks begin to show for the audience in the fantasy. The two get married, regardless, and the film takes a drastic turn from here.
Director Sean Baker, whose work is known for portraying outcasts in his films, does a great job here in creating characters who feel like outcasts. We know about Ani and Ivan by the midway point in the film, but it’s sudden introduction to the trio of Armenian hands, Toros, Igor and Garnick, hired by the Zacharov family to keep watch on Ivan’s doings. In what is a magnificent extended confrontation scene between the trio, Ivan and Ani, Ivan runs off and leaves without a trace. Ani is left alone again for the first time with complete strangers who want nothing more than to make sure their relationship never existed.
Mikey Madison once again puts on an incredible physical performance fending off the three would-be captors. It matches the film’s drastic tone shift. And as the film evolves from a love story to comedy, we really get to learn so much about Anora’s character. As their search for Ivan delves deeper into the biting cold of early January’s bitter nights in NYC, so too does our look at Baker’s true intentions of the film. That is, that there are those who are rich, those who are poor, and more often than not, no matter how optimistic you may feel, that line often does not cross. Baker gives us little snippets throughout that cold night that Ani and her “captors” are not so different from each other. Certainly, they are more similar than anything Ani and Ivan may have had.
We see those clues early, from moments where Ivan completely ignores his maids as they work, seemingly unbothered by their intrusion as he plays games. Meanwhile, Ani can’t help but pay attention to them. Ivan is used to (literally) running away from his problems, while Ani is more apt to confront them head on, as she does. And, as the night grows longer, we see that Ivan would rather be out partying, regardless of the company, while Ani keeps company that she prefers not to keep in order to find her supposed husband. All the while, she is in the company of 3 men who really would rather not be what they’re doing. Toros, Garnick and Igor are reluctantly attempting to provide for their respective families in servitude of a family that hardly recognizes their existence. Toros even leaves his own child’s baptism in order to tend to the Zacharov’s needs.
In this way, Anora‘s drastic heel turn may rattle some. And rightfully so. But it represents the chaotic nature of the kind of life each of the main characters have chosen. By ripping away all hope that Ani seems to have in the film’s first half, the audience feels a deeper connection for the character in the second half.
And what is the culmination of all of Baker’s intentionality? An ending that slows down the movie’s breakneck pace to a crawl. It lets you sit one last time, as credits roll, allowing you the space to sit with the story it just told.
Final Thoughts
Anora is such a unique film. It fits nicely in Sean Baker’s filmography, with deeply moving characters, beautiful cinematography and incredible performances. I love how the film deals with its mature themes, and no doubt Mikey Madison will be the front runner for a Best Actress award this year.
