Anora is kind of like Pretty Woman on meth. A sexy stripper named Anora (Mikey Madison) meets a spoiled rich Russian kid named Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) in the club and gives him a lapdance. Before long, he’s paying her a little extra for some sexy fun time on the side. That eventually leads to shelling out big bucks for a week-long arrangement. During that time, they fly to Vegas for some ketamine and after a bout of lovemaking, they decide to get married. What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas though when the kid’s furious parents send their bodyguards to break up their wedded bliss.
The set-up is simple. The resolution is predictable. However, everything that occurs in between is a goddamn rollercoaster. There’s a stretch of about a half-hour there where writer/director Sean Baker builds up a level of concentrated intensity where you honestly have no idea what’s going to happen next. The way Baker juggles the prospect of violence with black humor, sustained suspense, and manic performances ranks up there with the final scene in Boogie Nights.
The film is a terrific vehicle for Mikey Madison. She showed lots of promise in her supporting roles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream. Here, she’s given centerstage and she really makes the most of it. Madison’s completely unleashed here and gives a performance that’s equal parts exhilarating and heartbreaking. You really take the ride along with her and her reaction shots are often priceless.
Baker also earns points for resisting the temptation to deliver a false Hollywood ending. Instead, he gives us something that while wholly believable, is tinged with a bittersweet sadness. The film is close to two-and-a-half hours, and I can’t help but think there couldn’t have been a tighter version of the same material somewhere in the editing room. (The nighttime search for Ivan drags in the third act.) That’s a minor quibble in the long run because when Anora cooks, it gives you one of the purest hits of adrenaline you’ll get from a movie all year.
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