Anora (2024)

Anora tells the story of Ani, an erotic dancer who, like a modern Cinderella, seems to find her Prince Charming in the figure of the naive and very immature Vanya, a 21-year-old boy who happens to be the son of a powerful Russian oligarch.

There is something crucial for the development of the film that beats in the encounter between the two young men, and it has to do with the way Ani understands relationships with men: in them there is always a mercantile dimension.

With Vanya it is no different, but her crazy vision of the world and her privileged economy act not only as promises of a better life, but also as propellants towards Las Vegas so that this life becomes official under the social precepts of marriage.

The device, of course, allows Baker to exploit the comic possibilities of the most classic (and hawksian) screwball comedy, which finds in Ani's strength and reasonableness the perfect counterpoint to Vanya's fragile and cowardly masculinity.

The marriage tipping point invokes three characters (hired thugs) who will attempt, with equal doses of enthusiasm and awkwardness, to overturn the marital bond.

And while Anora is a hilarious and hilarious film (this band of no-goods is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful ideas in the film), it is also profoundly sad.

Much of the blame for this lies in Ani's helpless situation, but also in the abysmal and disappointed gaze of Mikey Madison, who not only handles the more physically and sexually demanding lides with ease, but also excellently imbibes the miserable and desolate atmosphere of his character.

Ani knows that in an ultra-capitalist and mean world she will always be on the side of the losers: that is why her last gesture is beautiful and devastating (surely one of the best scenes Baker has ever filmed), because only love and understanding will be able to improve this world.

I leave for the end, the great performance of Mikey Madison, who is excellent, even though she has to scream excessively and is a foul-mouthed, but it is what her character requires, and she is credible both in the most dramatic scenes, as in those where she has to expose herself physically, and in the funniest moments.

A film easier to recommend to almost all audiences than others directed by Sean Baker, perhaps those who can not stand movies with so many swear words or many sex scenes, leave the theater angry.