Anora
Sean Baker blends farce, drama and tragedy in his freewheeling tale of a Brooklyn sex worker involved with the son of a Russian oligarch.
Business with pleasure: Mark Eydelshteyn and Mikey Madison
Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
Critics’ darling Sean Baker has made his reputation writing and directing films about the marginalised and dispossessed, peeling the skin off the underbelly of American society. His characters, be they transgender sex workers, the imminently homeless or a former adult performer, struggle under the weight of a disapproving middle-class, and are often hard people to like, or to approve of, or to engage with, yet are given the right to have their say. Baker documents these lives of dramatic desperation with a documentary-like verisimilitude, drawing out surprisingly naturalistic performances from his actors, pushing them to the edge of their artistic abilities. This doesn’t always make for easy viewing, and at times there is an air of sewer-gazing as Baker’s dramatis personae wiggle for an ounce of dignity. In Anora, we are asked to ogle these self-indulgent fun-seekers as they dance, have sex, swear, fight, snort ketamine and scream at each for over two hours.
Here, Ivan ‘Vanya’ Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn) is a particularly obnoxious, petulant protagonist, the spoiled scion of Russian money who crams his hours with drugs, booze, video games and paid-for copulation. Anora, or Ani (Mikey Madison), is Julia Roberts to his Richard Gere (think Pretty Woman), a spirited sex worker who gives her customers value for money and is blown away by Ivan’s affluence and access to luxury. He is too naïve to see the people he hurts as he attempts to achieve his next sybaritic high and sucks Ani into his carefree embrace.
The film’s second half becomes less laborious as a turn of events introduces an element of farce, along with three Armenians, the latter who work for Ivan’s parents back in Russia. Freeing himself from the shackles of character development, Baker now speeds the action along with a freewheeling spirit anchored by one supporting character in particular who stands out from the chaos. Subtly underplayed by Yura Borisov, Igor perches on the sidelines, allowing Mikey Madison to hog the limelight. Madison certainly gives the part her all, providing a passion, nakedness and stamina that is garnering her rave reviews. At the time of writing, she is the favourite to snatch the Oscar for best actress next year.
In light of the existential threat currently posed by Russia, the other central character of Ivan Zakharov may be viewed as a veiled metaphor, although the war in Ukraine is never directly alluded to. Indeed, nobody has anything very interesting to say, and even when the film’s most crucial conversation between the pair is playing out, Ivan is preoccupied by a video game, and only giving Ani half an ear. These self-centred, unpleasant people make for tiresome company, the humour in the later stages escaping like trapped gas under pressure. Which gives the final, ambiguous scene an unexpected potency.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Aleksei Serebryakov, Lindsey Normington, Emily Weider, Anton Bitter.
Dir Sean Baker, Pro Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Screenplay Sean Baker, Ph Drew Daniels, Pro Des Stephen Phelps, Ed Sean Baker, Music Matthew Hearon-Smith, Costumes Jocelyn Pierce, Sound John Warrin, Casting Sean Baker.
FilmNation Entertainment/Cre Film-Universal Pictures.
139 mins. USA. 2024. US Rel: 18 October 2024. UK Rel: 1 November 2024. Cert. 18.
