10/10
In a scene from Vegas, a character refers to “McCarran Airport”
Story
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, impulsively meets and marries the son of an oligarch. When news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened when his parents leave for New York to annul the marriage. Sean Baker wanted to cast Yura Borisov after seeing him in Kupe br. 6 (2021).
Referenced in Close-Up: Anora (2024)
Although Las Vegas International Airport was known as McCarran International Airport for many decades, its name was changed to Harry Reid International Airport in late 2021. Igor: PLEASE! STOP! YELLING!.
Daddy AF Written by and performed by Catherine Slater (aka Slayyter)
Anora is an early career masterpiece from Sean Baker that continues to destigmatize sex workers and offers some thoughtful class commentary as the super-rich mess with other people’s lives for their own amusement without thinking about the consequences to themselves. It’s great when it’s acting like Pretty Woman and only gets better when it shifts gears into Uncut Gems territory with a highly tense second half that’s also very funny from start to finish. Mikey Madison is everything in a film that’s built around her star-making performance, which confirms that she only deserves more leading roles. She’s so confident and refuses to back down while being endlessly likable.
There’s a strong supporting cast as well
It makes it incredibly engaging because you just want her to have the fairytale ending she was promised, making you cling to the smallest shred of hope even as reality sets in at every turn. Mark Eydelshteyn makes Ivan seem like a good guy despite his obvious flaws before sadly revealing that he’s just a spineless, spoiled brat. Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan and Karren Karagulian are a charming trio who spend most of their screen time dealing with a horrible job that quickly devolves into a spectacular comedy of errors, so you feel really bad for them. Sean Baker’s direction is incredible thanks to a tight grasp of tone, allowing him to pull off the big shift gracefully, and the striking opening scene set to Take That sets the scene beautifully.
His editing is a highlight, clocking in at 139 minutes without feeling too long
The home invasion sequence goes on for a while and it’s only a good thing as it keeps building, and it definitely helps that the middle chunk is a moment-to-moment search across the city for Ivan. From Alien: Romulus to Road House, check out some of our favourite 2024 posters.
