In the very first scene, the audience find themselves gazing at a dimly lit strip club with Mikey Madison’s titular character ‘Anora’ charming her clientele. That is where she eventually meets Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, a 21-year old spoiled son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.
Paying for her time and sexual services, Ivan invites her out to his luxurious seaside mansion in Brooklyn multiple times. It was during a New Year’s Eve party that he suggests a more exclusive arrangement with Ani, as she prefers to be referred to—where he would have her out to Las Vegas for a week, for which she would be paid lavishly. The week in Vegas is one of debauchery and hedonism, marked by substance abuse, sex and unadulterated self-indulgence.
On the seventh day, Ivan asks Ani to marry him. Infatuated by the promise of an easy future, she says yes to the impulsive proposal. Delirious with joy and romance, Ivan and Anora get married in Las Vegas. Returning to Brooklyn, she quits her work at the strip club.
The plot unravels and accelerates as Ivan’s parents get wind of his wedding with, in their words, “a f—ing prostitute” and set out to New York to get their marriage annulled by any means necessary. Anora is a story of a class divide and the yearning of a sex worker to leave her difficult life behind in the advent of an unexpected fairytale.
The movie is an attempt at humanizing sex workers, which it does partially through the lens of its character named Igor. While Anora is an achievement in filmmaking and palpable visual excellence, it often lacks meaningful substance or dialogue. This drama-comedy found itself lacking when it came to lending insight into the character of Anora, the portrayal of whose personhood is limited to her profession and her bold resolve to keep her marriage intact.
One of the biggest saving graces for this character is its actor, Mikey Madison, who delivers one of the most mesmerizing and memorable performances of the year. She shines equally bright in moments of tragedy as well as slapstick humour.
Anora has undoubtedly left a multitude of theatre-goers breathless and has already been awarded with multiple accolades, including the Palme d’Or at 2024 Cannes Film Festival—which the director dedicated to all sex workers of the past, present and future.
