Sean Baker’s acclaimed feature showcases the star-power of Mikey Madison
As someone who basked in the charms of Anora at a festival screening months before it’s release, I ended 2024 with a rather enamored view of the film. Awards season is a window of time where films get built up and often torn down, by some quarters at least. Anora seemingly wasn’t for everyone, but it had enough support to help it bring home six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Sean Baker), and Best Actress (Mikey Madison). Criterion’s release offers a chance to revisit the film away from the hustle and bustle of awards campaigning, and away from the competition and the vociferous factions championing other films. A repeat viewing that confirms that yep, the Best Picture won.
For the uninitiated, Anora follows Ani (her preferred name), a tough, foul-mouthed, whip-smart stripper and sex worker. Working one night at a club in Brooklyn, she’s paired with a client on account of her ability to speak Russian. Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn bringing boyish charms along with a blend of insolence and immaturity) is the young son of a Russian oligarch and quickly becomes infatuated with Ani. One night leads to an offer of a 5-figure sum to spend the weekend with him. For Ani, this whirlwind experience is equally intoxicating, and with the pair riding on a high, they end up getting married while on an escapade in Vegas. The next day, reality comes crashing in as word reaches Vanya’s parents of his actions. His father sends some of his goons to bring the pair to heel and ensure the marriage is annulled. Faced with the consequences of his actions, Vanya bolts into the city as Ani is left behind, defiant that their love is real, and nothing will get in the way of their future together. Battered and bruised from their encounter with this young woman, these men drag her across the city in search of Vanya, looking to force the dissolution of his union with Ani before his parents arrive.
What begins like a modern-day Pretty Woman mutates into something darker, messier, and infinitely more interesting. Baker, as with Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket, keeps attention locked on the fringes of American life, the scrappy underdogs, the hustlers, the people doing what they can with what they’ve got. Here, it’s through the lens of romance, tackling a modern day affair perfused with the transactional elements that are all too common in our capitalist world. This reshapes things from a conventional “will this pair make it” to a deeper look at Ani herself. Her pursuit of a better life, her dreams of lifting herself up, her energy, drive, determination in the face of physical and psychological efforts to push her back down to where these affluent folk think she belongs.
It’s honest and compelling work, sobering and heart-wrenching at times, tempered by an infusion of screwball energy. The initial encounter with these heavies (including the surprisingly empathetic Igor, played by Yura Borisov) is a raucous affair. Sparks fly. Heads butt. Hands are tied, and this is all before they’ve even left the house. Ani is propulsive chaos, whose attitude (reinforced after having a taste of the highlife) is as much a character quirk as well as a plot element. For Madison, this is not just planting a flag as an actress, it’s a role that is both breakout and defining. She explodes off the screen. Ani is flawed, funny, savvy, and fueled by a mix of survival instinct and stubborn optimism. She’s the kind of girl you’d fall for in a heartbeat, but question whether you’d ever introduce her to your mother. Again, a reflection of the class and social perceptions engrained into us all. Madison’s work defines the film itself.
For Baker, he deftly balances these differing tonal elements by rooting the film in empathy. Never judging these characters never moralizing what some need to do to , just an unflinching gaze and a whole lot of heart. He writes Ani as something indefagitible, even as the fantasy starts to collapse and the cold reality creeps back in. The final scene hits like a gut punch, with our Anora having been chewed up and spat out, left to reflect, finally vulnerable with a future uncertain, and a glimmer of something defiant that will see her through.
The Package
Criterion’s 4K-UHD transfer is flawless, with a consistent quality image throughout. High contrast, and robust colors, all work to complement the high detail of the transfer, and easily handle the shifts between the warmer tones of strip clubs and Vegas and the cooler hues of the real world. Blacks are deep and inky, and a nice tempered grain persists throughout. The release includes one 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features:
- Audio commentary 1: featuring Baker, Coco, producer Samantha Quan, and cinematographer Drew Daniels, and the other featuring Baker and actors Yura Borisov, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Mikey Madison, and Vache Tovmasyan: A good dive into the more technical aspects of the film, with talk covering locations, approaches to shooting, lighting and tone, and more. A fine ‘filmmakers’ look at Anora
- Audio commentary 2: featuring Baker and actors Yura Borisov, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Mikey Madison, and Vache Tovmasyan: Expectedly, this commentary tilts more towards the performances and personal experiences of the cast. The group also do share insights into some technical aspects of the production, as well as some playful anecdotes. It’s a bit disjointed, but a fun addition
- New making-of documentary: Running close to an hour, it’s an amalgamation of behind-the-scenes footage from the entirety of the film’s shoot. Unfolding chronologically, it’s a great alternate way to experience the film
- New interviews with Baker and Madison: One features Baker sharing his inspirations for Anora, while the second pairs them both to talk some specifics about the character and their approach to various scenarios within the film, notably the strip club sequences
- Cannes Film Festival press conference: with Baker and members of the cast
- Q&A with Madison and actor-stripper Lindsey Normington: digging into some of the training Madison underwent for the role, as well as thoughts on the film and it’s depiction of strippers and sex-workers
- Deleted scenes: Around 7 minutes of trimmed footage, nothing of real substance
- Audition footage: Around 15 minutes of footage for some of the supporting cast
- Trailers:
- PLUS: Essays by film critic Dennis Lim and author Kier-La Janisse: Included in the liner notes which also are built to evoke the aesthetic of a 70s film magazine
- New cover by Bianca Parkes and GrandSon, with photography by Max Abadian
The Bottom Line
Anora represents a continuation and refinement of the style of storytelling Baker is known for, an exposed and honest look at people on the fringes of society striving for something better. It’s warm, chaotic, and enthralling and ultimately driven home by a tour de force performance from Mikey Madison. Criterion’s release showcases a pristine transfer and a wealth of extras to better appreciate the magic wrought here.
Anora is available via Criterion now
