TIFF 2024 – Sean Baker’s “Anora” loves the attention but feels awfully familiar

By: Myles Herod –
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If director Sean Baker were as good at writing as he is at visual style, “Anora” might have been worth its hype (winner of this year’s prestigious Cannes Palme d’Or ). He isn’t, and it isn’t. But that’s not to say it doesn’t try.

Devised as his most accessible project yet, the first half plays as its most engaging, centering on its title character (Mikey Madison), who prefers to be called Ani (not Anora). When she’s not getting badgered by her sister in their modest Brooklyn apartment, the twentysomething is shaking her G-string to businessmen and, on what feels like the most pivotal moment of her life, a Russian kid called Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn).

The two hit it off immediately, flirting between a broken mix of both languages (Ani knows a little Russian). Soon Vanya, the son of a Russian billionaire, becomes infatuated with her and proposes marriage, sealing the deal at a 24-hour wedding chapel in Vegas. The honeymoon doesn’t last. Blowback comes swiftly, particularly from angry overseas parents who dispatch a trio of thugs to annul the marriage, intimidate Ani, and most importantly, locate Vanya whose run away.

Although the chemistry between Madison and Eydelshteyn is exciting and sweet, the film falls apart in its second half, shifting gears into a tedious wild goose chase heavily reliant on repetitive humour and lazy storytelling (ex. Russians are intense, Anora gets tied up. Rinse and repeat).

Problems aside, there is stuff here to admire, including Mikey Madison’s gutsy performance and cinematographer Drew Daniels dazzling eye for framing every shot. Unfortunately, neither are supported by the script. Worse yet, with each passing film, it feels as if Sean Baker’s made this story numerous times already.