‘Anora’: Mikey Madison’s big break
Sean Baker's latest will sweep awards, mark my words
The first half of this review is spoiler-free.
Marketing for films has done wonders in nudging 18-30 year olds to go to the cinema and see a film before its hype dies down: Longlegs was a great example. With Anora, I’ve been surrounded by TikTok fifteen-second trailers, Instagram promotions through collaborations with Letterboxd and even targeted Facebook ads. I’m not really anti-advertising - sometimes the algorithm helps me out - but I find it cruel that the world is being introduced to Anora and unless they’re at a festival, half of these 18-30 year olds aren’t going to get to see it anytime soon. Distribution issues of great films is an essay for another day, however.
This specific bout of marketing did not let me down. I was incredibly hyped, almost itching, to see Anora and I was delighted to catch it at its UK premiere last Friday for London Film Festival. I was sat at the very back of the impressive Royal Festival Hall and still locked on to Mikey Madison in every scene.
Sean Baker’s Anora is a somewhat tragic tale about the life of young Ani (played by Madison) and her sudden yet exciting marriage to son of Russian oligarch Ivan or ‘Vanya’ after he becomes mesmerised by her special attention towards him at the strip club Headquarters. Coming in at 2 hours 20 minutes, some have criticised the film as being too long, its story as controversial and its performances as mediocre. All three are unfounded claims and Anora will win Best Picture - if it was up to me, that is.
Baker purposefully places Ani centre-stage at every given opportunity: she is there to be looked at, but only with her permission. She is not taken advantage of, she domineers and takes control but alas, even in her strongest moments she is tested to incredible limits. Through this narrative, Baker weaves a tale that is exceptionally timely for our online era of exposure: to take ownership of yourself and your body is most crucial. It’s also the golden thread of this anti-Cinderella story that is rooted in reality, as all of Baker’s past work has been.
Spoilers ahead!
I don’t think this film should ever be made available for streaming. It would be a travesty to watch it anywhere other than a sold-out, fully-packed cinema where everyone is laughing and crying at Ani absolutely totaling Vanya’s mansion in defense of Igor, Toros and Garnick. The dynamism of Mikey Madison is captivating; almost as much as that darned trope of bright red that Baker loves to use. Her scarf, or rather Vanya’s mother Galina’s scarf as we find out in the gut-punch of an ending, is both a weapon during this scene and a comfort later on.
Baker’s additions of Igor’s lingering glances on Ani, their icy humour and their tragically sad yet real ending are an exposé of the real danger of Anora: words unsaid. Ani repeatedly tries to get Vanya to speak to her while he’s stoned, prior to the anticipatory meeting of his parents, and to no avail. Of course, if he’d been honest and mature, Ani wouldn’t have to harbor such heavy heartbreak: and for that, I despised him so strongly.
Damn you, Sean Baker, for making me feel so much!
I rated this film 5 stars on Letterboxd but I really cannot emphasise enough how infectiously appealing this film is. Ani is addictive, the brash Russian humour is slapstick-funny and the drama is, as Baker says himself, what adults needed to see on-screen for a change.
If you’ve seen it, let me know what you think!