Directed by Sean Baker
Written by Sean Baker
Produced by Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, & Sean Baker
Starring
Mikey Madison as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a high-priced stripper at the Headquarters strip club[6]
Mark Eydelshteyn (alternatively anglicized to “Eidelstein”) as Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch
Yura Borisov as Igor, a Russian henchman hired by Toros to look after Vanya
Karren Karagulian as Toros, an Armenian handler employed by Vanya’s father to look after him
Vache Tovmasyan as Garnik, an Armenian henchman and Toros’ brother
Aleksei Serebryakov as Nikolai Zakharov, Vanya’s father
Darya Ekamasova as Galina Zakharova, Vanya’s mother
Luna Sofía Miranda as Lulu, another Headquarters stripper and a friend of Ani’s
Lindsey Normington as Diamond, an unfriendly Headquarters stripper who competes with Ani for clients
Vincent Radwinsky as Jimmy, an owner at the Headquarters strip club
Anton Bitter as Tom, Vanya’s friend who works at a Coney Island candy shop
Ivy Wolk as Crystal, Vanya’s friend who works at a Coney Island candy shop
Vlad Mamai as Aleks, Vanya’s friend
Maria Tichinskaya as Dasha, Vanya’s friend
Charles Jang as Vegas Hotel Manager
Emily Weider as Nikki, a stripper
Brittney Rodriguez as Dawn, a manager at Headquarters
Sophia Carnabuci as Jenny, a stripper
Ella Rubin as Vera, Ani’s roommate
Alena Gurevich as Klara, a housekeeper for the Zakharova mansion
Artyom Trubnikov as Michael Sharnov, a lawyer
Michael Sergio as judge
Cinematography Drew Daniels
Edited by Sean Baker
Music by Matthew Hearon-Smith
Production companies FilmNation Entertainment, Cre Film
Distributed by Neon October 18, 2024 (United States)
Running time 139 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $6 million Box office $56.4 million
Describing Anora makes it difficult to imagine it as anything other than a rather forgettable sitcom. You have a sex worker with a caring and generous nature. You have the feckless and dissolute scion of a family of ultra-wealthy Russian plutocrats. You have vicious and ruthless Russian thugs. Yes, a lot of the characters are, at first glance, stereotypes.
But Anora won five Oscars, and it’s one of the relatively rare occasions where the Academy chose artistic merit over popularity and box office.
Ani (diminutive of Anora, the titular character, played by Mikey Madison) works in a strip club, pole dancing and taking customers to back rooms for a friendly lap dance. She sometimes does a bit of escort service on the side. She is pretty, and young enough to not have become resigned to her lot in life. She makes good money, enough to live in New York City.
Because she speaks some Russian, management assigns her to “Vanya,” (Mark Eydelshteyn). Vanya is what Steve Martin might characterize as “a wild and crazy guy” – perpetually high, living life as one long party. They have a pleasantly blurry good time together, and when he next pops into the club, he asks for her by name. One thing leads to another, and he invites her to “his pad” which turns out to be a seaside modern mansion worth easily north of $100 million. Things progress, and they end up eloping to Las Vegas.
See? I warned you it sounds formulaic as hell. But between the brilliant writing, direction and production by Sean Baker, and outstanding acting, especially by Mikey Madison, it is nothing of the sort. All the main characters are fully realized, three-dimensional, and all of them are simply trying to live their lives in the midst of an increasingly over-the-top and preposterous situation. It doesn’t have a silly feel-good ending, but rather leaves the viewer feeling enriched, having learned about the intrinsic value of human nature.
I was startled to discover that the Putin Press in Russia really liked the movie, saying it showed a “thaw in US / Russia relations.” Well, maybe in comparison to Poland’s Putin which I reviewed last week. At least Anora doesn’t show Putin shitting himself, although it does show Vanya pissing himself. Maybe that denotes character in Russia, I don’t know. All the actors portraying Russians were Russian, which shows respect, at least.
But in any event, Anora very richly deserved the Oscars. Did I mention it’s both hilarious and affecting? See it. You won’t be sorry.