ANORA is a 2024 film written and directed by Sean Baker. The film follows a modern-day Cinderella story of a sex worker, Ani or Anora (Mikey Madison), as she gets into a whirlwind marriage with the Russian son of an Oligarch, Vanya, or Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn). It’s produced by NEON, who has quickly claimed their rightful spot in the film community. I heard a lot of talk about this film when it started premiering at festivals, but I wasn’t very interested in seeing it. Once I started seeing trailers for it before every movie and hearing all the buzz, I became more invested. By October, I was all in.
ANORA is the most chaotic movie I have ever seen, and it does it absolutely flawlessly. Not a single beat of the 2 hours and 19 minutes misses its mark. Sean Baker is an absolute genius. I fell in love with him earlier this year when I watched THE FLORIDA PROJECT for the first time (If you have never watched it, you must stop reading this review to go fix that; one of the most real and raw movies I’ve ever seen that changed me as a person). Sean Baker made a complete masterclass in directing. I can not emphasize how smart every choice was. The movie is quite long and starts to feel the effect of that towards the third act but let me tell you I have never been more drawn into anything than I was in the middle hour of the movie. I truly have never been more stressed out, as if I was the one in the situation. I physically could not breathe! I truly was hanging onto every word or action presented. There is a move that perfectly ties all the chaos together and makes sure no moment is ever calm, using overlapping dialogue. Wow. About 60% of the dialogue in the film has some noise or multiple conversations going on simultaneously. Another useful tactic is repeated pleas for help without any response from other characters. You will feel so helpless and restrained just watching these situations. Sean Baker deserves all the recognition when award season rolls around.
Speaking of recognition, Mikey Madison. Just, wow. Truly, the wonder that is Mikey Madison. She is just flawless. The journey she goes through is so seamless and clear. She becomes so vulnerable and authentic without falling into stereotypes of what she should be. Mikey Madison did a lot of research on the character and actually went to live in the area and meet some girls this movie was based on, and it paid off entirely. You are rooting and pitying her for the entire film. You want her to win. You want her to get her happy ending. You want her to escape what’s holding her back.
I don’t think I’ve ever paused and waited after the credits started rolling for as long as I did this time. The final frame and then a direct cut to black and silence. Complete silence. I looked around at the other people in the theater, and in that moment, we were all one collective hive mind. We all held the biggest breath we couldn’t let go of. Just credits against a pitch-black screen and silence. One of the most genius uses of credits I’ve seen and a wonderful way to keep the story in your mind even after the images were over. It made me realize how much music or instrumentals closes off a film and gives you the go-ahead to leave. This one kept you there for a moment as you were unsure whether you were waiting for a final crescendo.
ANORA is still in theaters (as of 11/18), and I highly recommend taking the time out of your day to go watch it. You will feel many emotions, although even 24 hours after I saw it, I’m not sure if I can put my finger on what feeling is still lingering in my mind. The silence that closed off the film is still repeating even as I write this right now.
