Sean Baker’s “Anora”, the juggernaut in this year’s awards season, continues the writer-director's exploration of sex workers as underdogs living in a society that tries to push them down.
The titular female lead is played by Mikey Madison, a stripper who finds a love prospect in the son of an oligarch. She was initially hired as a girlfriend for a week, but being young and foolish as they are, the two decide to get married in a Las Vegas church—not knowing the chaotic repercussions that may arise.
“Anora” is pretty much a Cinderella tale for the first 45 minutes, where the woman gets thrown into a narrative she aspires for that is free from the confines of work. When we first see him, her world has been transfixed with transactional relationships to get by and move forward. Being able to be carefree with a man is the ideal escape.
But then again, this is just the first 45 minutes of the film, and there are over 90 more left.
What was an optimistic look on society transforms into a cold, unpredictable, and mostly harsh one with Anora at the center. This betrayal of trust between the filmmaker and his audience is what fueled “Anora” to greater heights, from a charmer to twisted and eventually heartbreaking. It’s quite a feat how writer-director Baker achieved this play of emotions while never losing track of his characters’ respective journeys.
The strength of “Anora” is also bounded by the performance of its lead Mikey Madison. She has a magnetic presence that it’s impossible not to root for her, even in moments when we don’t need to. There’s something truly magical in watching someone who is relatively unknown to a mainstream audience and completely embodies a character from the ground up.
“Anora” opens in cinemas this Boxing Day, and if there’s just one movie to watch this weekend, this is my best recommendation. It won the prestigious Palm d’Or award at the Cannes International Film Festival and is poised to win more as award-giving groups send out their trophies in the coming months. A great watch!
Featured photos courtesy of Neon.
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