[Rating: Rock Fist Way Up]
Chaotic. Energetic. Funny. Sensual. Partly in Russian. All of these words can only describe director Sean Baker’s new (and in my opinion, BEST) film, Anora—a Pretty Woman-esque story of a woman who lands herself into a world of high stakes, sex and circumstance. Mikey Madison stars and lights up the screen with every moment (pretty much the entire film) she graces the screen.
Anora “Ani” Mikheeva (Madison) is a stripper living in Brooklyn. She is proud of her work and loves giving customers their ultimate fantasies. She is hired by Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), a young Russian who falls head over heels for Ani. After he hires her for some more “adult time” at his mansion, the two continue their whirlwind romance. A trip to Las Vegas ends with the two in love and ultimately married, ending Ani’s time as a stripper and making her Cinderella fantasies come true.
On the flipside, Ivan is only in the country on a visit because his parents gave him the chance to not screw things up, something he is known for doing. Word gets out that Ivan has married a woman in order to secure a green card and his parents hire Toros (Karren Karagulian), Ivan’s handler, to investigate. Toros hires henchmen Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) to drop in on Ivan and Ani. Here, chaos ensues as the men investigate if the rumors Ivan married is true. Poor Ani is then thrown into the world of the Russians who must now look for Ivan, who, after being threatened by a visit from mom and dad, runs away in fear. After much fighting, verbally and physically, Anora agrees to find Ivan with the henchmen and spend a wild-ass second half of the movie looking for her husband.
I adored Anora. I’m not the biggest fan of Baker’s last two features, but was a big fan of what I first saw from him, Tangerine. Anora just felt like it was on an entire other level. I love that 99% of this film has Madison in it because she is such a delightfully funny and charming actress, I could have watched thirty more minutes of this! The film is sharply paced, never feeling its near two-and-a-half hour runtime. I loved it is really broken into three parts that are noticeable, because it allows Anora to go on a wild road trip in a world she just happened to stumble upon. She’s a strong willed woman who doesn’t put up with the Russian heavies, scaring even them.
One of the other things I loved as well, was how much development Anora is given. The way Baker frames her with a character like Garnick who becomes a semi-bodyguard to her is magical. We get to see her complex emotions of “how the hell did I get here,” leading to a finale that the more I think on it, the more I want to reach into the screen and give her a big hug.
Baker’s film is such…chaotic fun! Anora has such a wild heart that I need a rewatch to solidify that it is one of the best films of this year.
Christian Ramos is a classic film fan, having had the dream to host Turner Classic Movies for years now. He also has a large amount of Oscar trivia in his head, remembers dressing as Groucho Marx one Halloween, and cherishes the moment Julianne Moore liked his tweet.
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