Writer’s note: The second paragraph of this article (just below the first image) contains a basic outline of the film’s premise. There are no spoilers that weren’t already inferred in the film’s own trailer. However, if you want to completely avoid potential spoilers, skip over the second paragraph.
When something is described as being a ‘Cinderella story’, what does that mean exactly? In simple terms, a Cinderella story is when an underdog character achieves surprising and great success. They win the big game, they beat out the more privileged competition, or they gain the affections of someone thought to be out of reach. That last one is most critical, given that it directly links the concept to Cinderella herself, the famous folk tale of the poor young girl who is lucky enough to marry the prince because her foot fits inside the glass slipper. It’s an age-old story, one that is incredibly difficult to make interesting, compelling or subversive in these cynical modern times. Enter director Sean Baker and his latest comedy-drama Anora (2024), a film which makes Cinderella out of a sex worker.
We are introduced to Ani (Mikey Madison), a 23-year-old escort and stripper working at a club in Brooklyn. After a usual night of flirtation, lap dances and tips, Ani is assigned by her boss to service Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (Mark Eidelstein), a 21-year-old son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. This is due to Ani’s Russian background and fluency with the language, making it very easy for Ani and Vanya to converse, connect and conduct business. Vanya is supposedly in the United States to study, but he instead uses his family’s endless money to party, travel with his entourage, and play video games. After hiring her for many sexual favours, Ani and Vanya appear to be falling for each other, resulting in the pair to arrange a quick marriage in Las Vegas. Once word gets back to Vanya’s parents, they send a group of henchmen, Igor (Yura Borisov), Toros (Karren Karagulian) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), to find the young pair and force a marriage annulment. However, Ani isn’t going to give in so easily, as she is convinced that this is a genuine match based on true love.
Anyone aware of Sean Baker’s filmography will note that Anora is his third film directly analysing sex work. Clearly, it’s a world that Baker finds fascinating and worthy of discussion. He has a very sympathetic view of the people in that life, intending to display their humanity and remove the cultural stigma hanging over them. Anora is his most effective attempt at this goal yet, as he excellently examines that cultural stigma head on. Ani herself is in opposition to powerful people who see her very existence as an embarrassment, something that can be easily ignored, paid off, or controlled. This analysis stands out greatly due to how much the audience comes to care for Ani, and how much we want her to succeed in life.
The stellar depiction of Ani is made especially engrossing due to Mikey Madison’s energetic and authentic performance. She is in practically every frame of the film, demanding your attention with every action, line, laugh and cry. Madison already made a memorable impression in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), but it’s Anora that cements her as one of the most promising and exciting new actors. Despite Ani being very crass, low class, and rough around the edges, Madison is able to easily infuse the character with so much hope, humour and implied kind-heartedness. This is not an easy performance to deliver, and it’s hard to imagine more experienced or well known performers being able to achieve what Madison achieves. This is a true star-making role, one that will be spoken of with great reverence in Madison’s future.
Even though Madison completely steals the show, Anora is much more than just a performance piece. The energy she delivers is matched by Baker’s frenetic storytelling, keeping the viewer hooked through every jaw-dropping escapade. As befitting a modern Cinderella story, the build up is fast-paced, exciting and thoroughly enjoyable. Yet unlike traditional Cinderella stories, the second half detours into stark, bleak reality, but it’s no less exhilarating and surprising. Baker delivers the twists, turns and reveals in a manner reminiscent of Ernst Lubitsch or Billy Wilder, as he finds creative and unexpected ways to top the previous manic moment. Most impressively, all the spectacular antics are cleverly placed in a handful of locations, with a small revolving door of characters. Thus, Anora is proof that you can create epic, edge of your seat drama (and comedy) without thousands of extras, explosions or computer effects.
Even with all the decidedly youthful verve, Anora is far from just being an energetic romp. At the film’s core (like its central protagonist) it has a soulful, thoughtful and complex heart. Through its fairly straightforward set up and plot, Anora is able to display a nuanced, character driven story unpacking themes of duality, empathy, change, entitlement and regret (or in the case of some characters, the lack thereof). The film’s final wordless moments may appear confusing at first, but every single thing the story conveys is artfully baked into the finale, leaving viewers with a profound and (in many ways) tragic conclusion. If the goal was to give the audience a moment of pause and consider if they need to look at certain things and certain people differently, then mission certainly accomplished.
Following the release of Anora, it’ll be very interesting to see if any filmmaker even attempts a traditional Cinderella story ever again. Anora’s subversive nature has well and truly made the normal tropes of the genre outdated, meaning any future director definitely needs to up their game. It’s not going to be an easy bar to clear, as Anora is currently Baker’s masterpiece. With that in mind, it’s possible that Anora’s very own success may also be a Cinderella story, depending on how it fares against the bigger and higher budgeted films this awards season.
9.5/10
Best way to watch it: When you’re fed up with Disney movies.
