“Anora” review: Strippers, oligarchs and a fairy tale gone awry

Things are going a little too well in “Anora” Until a call from Russia and a knock on the door change the course of the film. This extended sequence, which is simultaneously deeply stressful and hilariously funny, is reason enough to watch it Sean Baker's Palme d'Or winner. But somehow the journey that follows only gets better and more interesting.

“Anora” is a fairy tale that spoils. An exotic dancer from Brighton Beach, Anora (Mikey Madison), or Ani as she likes to be called, is paired one evening with a young man named Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) who wants a Russian speaker. She can speak a little and understand everything, and they quickly get along and set off on a stormy ride together. First, Ivan hires her by the hour, then by the week, for which she charges a whopping $15,000 (taking inflation into account, that's about double what Vivian got in “Pretty Woman”). Edward may have been a successful corporate raider, but he wasn't (I have oligarch money.) Ivan even tells Ani that he paid $30,000.

Because as crass, ugly and reckless as it all is, there's also something of a joy bombshell in watching Ani and Ivan indulge in the youthful hedonism of unlimited funds – there's drugs, champagne, private jets, luxury suites and, perhaps most importantly is, they We're having fun. When he proposes to her and they get married on a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas, you almost think it could work. Then the foundation collapses: Ivan's parents find out, and the boys who are supposed to be looking after the wayward kid, presumably studying in the US, are sent to fix the problem, and quickly. They have less than 24 hours until Ivan's parents land in New York and Ivan disappears. Suddenly, “Anora,” with its ticking clock, missing child, frightened idiots and determined dancer, turns into a thrill ride that gives way “Rough Gemstones” a run for his money.

Before “Anora,” I’m not sure I was particularly invested in the odyssey of a debonair, exotic dancer who, for a fleeting moment, has everything money can buy. Now I can't imagine not having made the trip and met the colorful ensemble: Anora, Ivan (dubbed the Russian Timothée Chalamet), Igor (Yura Borisov), the brutal-looking, soft-voiced, kind-eyed muscle and a heart of gold, Toros (Karren Karagulian), the very stressed-out Armenian who is supposed to keep Ivan in line, and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), Toros' cocky brother who hopes to make a good impression on Ivan's family. They're not just villains either: they're all fascinating and empathetic in their own way, and they're just trying to do a job for their powerful employers. At the end of a very long night with this motley crew, you may be wondering if you're even interested in Ani getting what she says she wants.

As a filmmaker, Baker has a special talent for taking moviegoers to places they wouldn't normally go, with characters they'd probably never meet either. Whether it is a few transgender sex workers As I walked along a less picturesque stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard on Christmas Eve, a A single mother and her six-year-old child live in a run-down motel just outside the “happiest place on earth” or a washed up porn star/scammer Those who return to Texas find wonder, beauty, dark humor and truth in the ugly, the unseen and the unheard. The environments are gritty, not something anyone would brag about on Instagram, and yet seem infinitely more authentic than some other filmmakers who indulge in poverty porn.

Perhaps the biggest handicap of “Anora” is the hurdle of prejudice. It almost seems too '90s for a young actor's big, serious, award-winning break to come from stripping naked and dancing on a pole. And yet, in the hands of Baker and Madison, it works: “Anora” embraces the clichés and transcends them at the same time. It's not about pretending it's not exploitative on some level; That might even be the point. And you will be surprised at how quickly you get involved in this unique journey.

“Anora,” a Neon release opening in select theaters Friday and expanding in the coming weeks, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “strong sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use.” evaluated. Running time: 138 minutes. Four out of four stars.