Her name is Anora, but she goes by Ani. She can understand Russian, but she’s too embarrassed to speak it. “I can’t roll my R’s,” she tells Ivan. His English is okay, but using it out loud embarrasses him, too. Not that it really matters. Ani and Ivan share a common language: sex and money. And at this point in their relationship, that’s all they’re looking for.

Written, directed, and edited by Sean Baker, Anora might sound like Pretty Woman, but it’s no fairy tale. Not to say that Anora is a harsh movie—it’s quite lively and hilarious—but this is a movie with no one running the show. Everyone acts like they do, but they don’t. It makes for great comedy.

Ivan (Mark Eidelshtein) is the son of a wealthy oligarch living in his parents’ New York mansion. He’s a lot of fun, parties all the time, and wants to have sex. That’s where Ani (Mikey Madison) comes in. She’s an exotic dancer, and Ivan pays her $15,000 to spend the week with him as his girlfriend. Ani accepts, and the fun times roll—right into Las Vegas where a plan is hatched: They’ll get married, Ivan will become a U.S. citizen and won’t have to go back to Russia, and Ani will be living on easy street in mansions and sable fur coats.

Does Ivan love Ani? Probably not. Ivan seems incapable of experiencing any emotion that is not an immediate one. Does Ani love Ivan? No. When Ivan’s handlers offer her a payout to walk away, she accepts. Granted, the offer is presented under duress. But Anora is a world of transactions, not emotions. And if someone is willing to pay, then so be it.

Or is it? Ivan has three handlers: Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and Igor (Yura Borisov). Toros is the man in charge, Garnick looks like he might be the muscle but is quickly taken out of the equation with a concussion, and Igor looks like a psychopath capable of great harm but is a man with a heart of gold. They’re Anora’s three stooges, and the middle section of the narrative involves them and Ani bumbling around New York looking for Ivan. It’s so good; it’s little wonder Anora won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Anora (2024)
Written and directed by Sean Baker
Produced by Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan
Starring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eidelshtein, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Yura Borisov
Neon, Rated R, Running time 139 minutes, Premiered May 21, 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival

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