Anora (18)

Brighton Beach stripper Anora Mikheeva works at a high-end Manhattan club frequented by men with wealth and influence. She uses her knowledge of the Russian language to befriend Ivan Zakharov, son of a Russian oligarch who leaves destruction in his wake and relies on godfather Toros and hired henchmen to clean up his mess. Ivan becomes smitten with Anora, pays her handsomely to pose as his girlfriend Pretty Woman-stylee, and the couple elope to Las Vegas to marry in one of the chapels.

LondonNet Film Review

Anora (18) Film Review from LondonNet

In a memorable scene from the fairy tale romance Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts’ smartly dressed working girl returns to the Rodeo Drive boutique that refused to serve her and playfully taunts snooty sales staff with the sizable commissions they lost because of their rudeness. “Big mistake… huge!” she grin, arms laden with designer label shopping bags. It would be a big mistake… no huge, to neglect writer-director Sean Baker’s deservedly Oscar-tipped comedy drama, which relocates the same wish-fulfilment fantasy to the strip clubs of Manhattan…

Unlike its predecessor, Anora doesn’t shy away from graphic scenes of sex, drug-taking and wild abandon between a wealthy client and an erotic dancer, played with lip-smacking gusto by Mikey Madison. From the moment her Pretty Fierce And Filthy Woman appears performing a lap dance in orgasmic slow motion, Madison blows through Baker’s film like a category-five hurricane and holds our attention in a chokehold between her thighs.

Resistance is futile, whether her unstoppable force of nature is breaking the nose of one thug who attempts to restrain her or clawing out the eyes of a jealous rival who tries to steal her high-spending customer. Frenetic, hilarious and deliriously destructive set pieces are briskly edited and deliver repeated jolts of adrenaline and dopamine, accompanied by a pulsating soundtrack that opens improbably – yet fittingly – with a rousing chorus of Brit pop trio Take That’s anthem Greatest Day.

Brighton Beach stripper Anora Mikheeva (Madison), known to friends as Ani, works at a high-end club frequented by men with more money than sense. She leverages her knowledge of the Russian language to befriend Ivan Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), 21-year-old playboy son of a Russian oligarch who misbehaves without consequence because his godfather Toros (Karren Karagulian) and hired henchmen Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Igor (Yura Borisov) are always on hand to clean up his messes.

Ivan becomes smitten with Ani and pays her 15,000 US dollars to pose as his girlfriend for a week, Pretty Woman-style. At the end of the agreement, the couple impulsively elope to Las Vegas to marry. When Ivan’s furious parents (Darya Ekamasova and Aleksey Serebryakov) learn of the nuptials on social media, they fly to the United States to demand an annulment.

Anora is a wildly profane, whoop-inducing and tender-hearted blast, and continues Baker’s compassionate, multi-faceted depiction of marginalised communities, immigrants and sex workers exemplified in his films Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket. The script mines ribald humour and touching sentiment from on-screen chaos, captured on a roaming handheld camera that harnesses the boundless energy of Madison and co-stars. Plot machinations ultimately deliver a shattering emotional release that delivers a swift kick to the nether portions of a neat, conventional happy ending. Some princesses proudly wear stripper heels and not every prince needs to be charming.

– Jo Planter