Shocking! ‘Anora’ – A Stripper’s Shocking Fairy Tale Crash Landing by Sean Baker!

The tale of “Anora” begins in a fashion quite similar to countless fairy tales from yesteryears: a young woman, unappreciated in her everyday life but deserving of so much more, encounters a handsome benefactor and is whisked away into the land of Happily Ever After.

“You’re practically Cinderella!” a friend exclaims early in the film. “Indeed, Cinderella,” our protagonist concurs.

In “Anora,” a freestyle work written and directed by Sean Baker, who has demonstrated a profound grasp of the struggles of the underprivileged through films like “The Florida Project” and “Tangerine,” our Cinderella is a stripper residing in Brooklyn and her Prince Charming is the affluent son of a Russian oligarch, a young man who not only possesses immense wealth but also knows where to source the best ketamine in Las Vegas.

This version of the story replaces the traditional glass slipper with a glass bong.

As you might deduce, concluding this narrative with a pledge of everlasting bliss might be a tad complex, and it’s in these twists that the enjoyment of this vivacious, big-hearted screwball adventure is discovered. The film, if you’re from a certain generation, may even be described as “madcap.” However, its power lies in the comprehensive control Baker maintains over the narrative. “Anora,” which bagged the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year, is arguably the best film of his career.

Ani (Mikey Madison), who prefers her nickname over the more formal title of the film, encounters Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) at her strip club. Her boss introduces them because the client has requested a private entertainer fluent in Russian. Ani, being an Uzbek American, understands the language from her grandmother, albeit not fluently. She’s friendly and playful, with her skills lying elsewhere, and Ivan soon inquires if she offers services “outside the club.” She does, and shortly after their meeting, she finds herself at his Brighton Beach mansion.

“You paid for an hour, and there’s still 45 minutes left,” Ani informs him after their initial short encounter.

As I mentioned earlier, Ivan is very keen. He’s also reckless, but in a certain (neon) light, quite endearing. He claims he’s 21, but considering his impulsive nature and fleeting attention span, that might be in dog years. After whisking Ani off to Vegas on his private jet, Ivan proposes (perhaps inspired by a J. Lo documentary), prompting Ani to hold up her ring finger and inquire, “Three carats?” “What about four?” Ivan counters.

Who declared romance dead?

“Anora” feeds off the hormonal thrill of their affair, and for a significant portion of the film’s 139-minute duration, Baker relishes in the exhilaration of their unrestrained dance. But every party has to end, and reality comes knocking one day courtesy of Ivan’s parents. An annulment is demanded, the specifics to be handled by Toros (Karren Karagulian), an Armenian priest who also serves as Ivan’s exhausted fixer; the robust sidekick Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan); and a somber Russian, Igor (Yura Borisov), brought in for backup should things escalate — which, predictably, they do.

“He disgraced his family by marrying someone like you,” Toros tells Ani, a statement she doesn’t take lightly. Baker spotlights her reaction in an extended action sequence that becomes hilarious with every punch thrown. It’s the first of many times the movie adjusts its tone in the latter half, growing grittier and more ambitious as it speeds toward a finale that’ll leave you heartbroken as the reality of everything Ani has gone through crashes down on her.

The concluding emotional blow is a testament to Madison, who portrayed a member of the Manson Family in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” a film that continues to solidify its position in the casting hall of fame. Baker wrote this role specifically for her, and Madison reciprocated with a breakthrough performance, embodying Ani’s boldness while exposing the delicate façade, the vulnerabilities, and self-deception lurking beneath.

Baker’s films are sensitive to issues of class and privilege, portraying a side of America seldom seen in cinema. In “Anora,” he cloaks his protagonist in a Russian sable and revels in her social ascent to the rhythm of Take That’s “Greatest Day” (“The future is ours to find”) only to thrust her into the frosty streets of Brighton Beach and the chilly Coney Island boardwalk, jostling with a gang of toughs for power and prestige. Baker amplifies the comedy, but akin to Ani, the unfairness of it all is clear as day. You won’t cheer harder for another character this year.