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“Anora” is many things, but like its titular character, it can’t be neatly defined. One moment, it’s an ultra-steamy rom-com, and the next, a no-holds-barred screwball comedy, before finally deflating into one of the year’s biggest tearjerkers. Think “Pretty Woman,” except with more nudity, neon lights and this generation’s newest Hollywood it-girl in place of Julia Roberts.
Anora, played by Mikey Madison, is a Russian-speaking stripper from Brooklyn who prefers to go by “Ani.” She becomes entangled with Ivan, the son of a rich Russian oligarch, during one of her shifts at the strip club. He offers her $15,000 to be his girlfriend — despite appearing completely uninterested when they’re not having sex — eventually leading them to elope at Las Vegas’s Little White Wedding Chapel.
But the couple’s fun ends once Ivan’s parents discover their shenanigans. Furious that his son married a sex worker, Ivan’s father orders his cronies to forcefully get the couple to annul their marriage. Ivan sprints out of his mansion before they arrive, abandoning Ani, who insists on gathering her belongings before making a run for it.
Ani is left behind to fend off against Garnick and Igor, Russian henchmen sent by Ivan’s dad. They try their best to apprehend Ani, but only get her to comply on the basis of their common goal to track down a now-missing Ivan. They’re more bark than bite, sustaining injuries including but not limited to actual bites, bruises and a broken nose. Toros, Ivan’s Armenian godfather, also arrives and attempts to de-escalate their expletive-laced screaming match.
Even though Toros, Igor and Garnick should technically be villains, the audience grows to love them on their comedic merits. Toros’ sense of impunity leads to outright absurdity, such as when he reverses his car off the back of a tow truck at maximum acceleration, tearing off his front bumper in the process.
Conversely, Igor is anything but machismo; after trashing a candy shop with a baseball bat, he snacks from the shattered popcorn stand he destroyed. He also humbly offers Ani a scarf in the cold — notably, the same one used to gag her in an earlier scene.
The humor from Garnick mostly comes down to his ineptitude. Several times over, he contributes to easily-avoided difficulties in the mission to find Ivan, such as when he pukes all over the inside of the henchmen’s white Cadillac Escalade.
Although “Anora” doesn’t shy away from sex scenes, it never feels pornographic or excessive. Once the non-stop laughter subsides, the film achieves its most vulnerable and honest moments, with sex only playing a small — albeit notable — role in the film’s universally important character study. Just like any struggling working-class American, Ani struggles for a means to live, both financially and emotionally.
Since Ivan appears as Ani’s way out of her miserable and sleepless career, it’s devastating when she’s forced to reconcile with the cold reality that she was simply used by a good-looking nepo baby. But because Ivan made her feel special, she’s had a taste of what it means to be more than just a performer.
Her frustration initially culminates with the briefly empowering thought of suing Ivan for half of what he owns — as one would have guessed, their shotgun wedding in Vegas didn’t involve signing any prenuptial agreements. But when Ivan’s billionaire mother heartlessly threatens to take everything away from Ani, she’s forced to back down.
Instead, Ani is forced to cope with her role as a relatively poor and despondent woman with no clear path to finding happiness. She might be fierce, but on the inside, she’s just as desperate to be loved as anyone.
Igor is the only person in the entire movie that sees Ani for her humanity. Toward the end of the film, he shows tremendous care for her, intuitively respecting her as a person and not as the disposable sex worker others perceive her as. I won’t spoil the ending of this movie, but let’s just say that Igor’s kindness leads to what’s possibly the most gut-wrenchingly heartfelt scene of the year.
Blurring the lines between love and sex, “Anora” serves as an Odyssean and often provocative reminder of what it means to be human. Equal parts hilarious and profoundly depressing, indie filmmaking auteur Sean Baker continues to show inventiveness in his latest Palme d’Or winner, which is undoubtedly one of the most sincere movies of 2024.
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Contact Henry Adams via email: henry.adams@pepperdine.edu
