Anora is a low budget film about people beneath the mainstream who happen upon a once in a lifetime chance at happiness. It’s a drama that immediately captures your attention and never let’s go.
Annie (Mikey Madison) is a stripper at a club who meets a wealthy, young Russian. It turns out that this man has access to vast, family money and is smitten with her. When Annie realizes that this dream relationship may be the start of a path away from her tawdry lifestyle to true happiness, events begin to move quickly in a whirlwind courtship until some harsh realities threaten to undermine everything.
Director Sean Baker (The Florida Project) has depicted the lives of the less fortunate, and here he creates a totally believable world of sex and glitz inhabited by real people with needs and longings. The film also asks the question, “How would we know love if it were in front of us?” The audience experiences first hand Annie’s budding romance filled with her euphoria and despair. The film borders on the outrageous with its almost preposterous, at times humorous setup, and yet you want to champion Annie; she is someone worth rooting for. The narrative, which slowly evolves into a wild adventure, later takes a decidedly surprising turn, and the film is so much the better for it. The relatively unknown cast is led by an Oscar caliber performance by Madison whose streetwise Annie elicits sympathy and pathos.
This deceptively
simple story about damaged souls ultimately exudes compassion and hope.
With a passing similarity to Pretty
Woman, it’s an independent production bereft of stars but contains a great
deal of heart and is one of the best films of the year bolstered by Madison’s
star making performance.
***** of
***** stars
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