VIFF 2024: ‘Anora’ Review
Sean Baker has always felt like one of the most empathetic voices to the fringes of America. His touching, charming, and typically humorous glimpses into those often left in the wake of capitalism have always skirted the class disparity without necessarily giving voice to the upper class but instead feeling their existence pressing down on those trying to escape their circumstances. With the writer-director’s latest film, Baker doesn’t cave on this focus, but further condemns exploitation, voyeurism, and the absurd lengths the wealthy will go to remain exclusionary and the reality for those clinging to the dream of finding financial security.
As always with Baker’s films, he has a knack for letting his actors shine in performances grounded in realism. Here is no exception as Anora finds its energy and ferocity in Mikey Madison’s revelatory performance as the titular character - who disowns her given name and instead goes by Ani. An exotic dancer, she suddenly finds herself the obsession of Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch, who has money to spend as he wastes away his days before his family brings him back to Russia to work for his family’s company. After spending time in a weeklong exclusive relationship with Ivan, she quickly agrees to a marriage that allows her to quit her job and live the life of wealth and freedom she has always dreamed of.
The whirlwind of events that sweep Ani up is an intoxicating blast of energy that pushes Baker into making his most vibrant film to date. Mired with a sense of immediacy to Ani’s actions that always paint her interactions with a sense of dread that the other shoe will eventually drop, Baker conveys Ani’s Cinderella story with an overwhelming understanding that all good things may come to an end. However, it’s the modern complexities of romance under financial constraint and the liberation that Ivan presents that create a tragicomedy filled with heart, laughter, and tension.
Madison takes command, bringing out a tenacious performance that puts the viewer squarely on her side. Opportunistic because of circumstances, Baker’s screenplay is sympathetic to Ani’s predicament as she wrestles with cultural differences and parental expectations that turn her marriage into a new living hell. Madison drives the film forward with a performance that bounces discrimination toward sex workers and the lower class off and turns it into an aggressive, propulsive force for the film to grab tightly onto and ride to its conclusion. As the film turns from a boisterous fairytale to tumultuous one-night-in-New-York tension, Anora keeps Madison’s intense performance front and center.
However, the way Baker handles tone showcases Ani’s plight in as stark a manner as possible. The integration of a catchy soundtrack befitting Ani’s place of work and the bright lights and wide shots of two people completely swept up in the moment turns into a darker, more dreary perspective as the Cinderella story struggles to lift its feet off the ground again. Anora is far less subtle in its juggling of tone than Baker’s previous film, Red Rocket. Still, by committing to the sudden tonal shift, it also emphasizes the ease with which her world (and others in her position) can come crumbling down from exploitative behavior and the voyeuristic tendencies of wealthy tourists.
Where Anora differs most strongly, besides its handling of tone, is its incorporation of the wealthy into Ani’s predicament. Usually understood as the cause of pain without being explicitly shown, Baker’s screenplay finds comedy and heartache in showing the physical presence of those keeping Ani down and forcing her to fight tooth and nail to escape being forced into her old life. The presence heightens the comical elements of the situation, but the intensity never lets up, creating a suffocating atmosphere for Ani that you can’t help but wish she could escape.
The interesting wrinkle is the addition of Igor (Yura Borisov, who was wonderful in 2021’s Compartment No. 6) who Ivan’s Armenian bodyguards hire to keep Ani under control. His past is only hinted at, but there’s a sympathy he shows for Ani’s predicament that demonstrates the hold that Ivan’s family has on others who have come within their orbit. It’s a surprisingly vulnerable performance given very little room to be vulnerable: he’s the muscle and is supposed to help the family or risk losing what little stability he has.
Baker’s films have always had an infectious energy to them, but Anora is a demonstration of someone who has mastered their craft. Baker’s insistence on writing, directing, editing, and casting his films has always led to a sense of authenticity and auteurship that takes his films beyond just being glimpses into a different side of America. His films are representations of the everyday America, the kind that Hollywood glosses up for entertainment value without regard for the people it exploits. That Baker manages to find the entertaining side of it all without sacrificing that empathy is what makes Anora his finest work to date.
The 2024 edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival will take place between September 26th and October 6th. More information on the lineup can be found on the festival's official website.
