In “Anora,” director Sean Baker paints a dazzling portrait of love, loss and self-discovery

Although her name means “bright and bright,” those two adjectives are hardly the way anyone would describe Ani, Mikey Madison's titular sex worker with a heart of gold in Sean Baker's great love story “Anora.” Not because these words aren't appropriate descriptions for Ani, but because she's far more complex than a few attributes you can glean from the etymology section of a mommy blog.

As a writer and director, Baker has devoted much of his career to unraveling the intricacies of characters like Ani, who are often relegated to the background. In his 2015 breakthrough “Tangerine,” he gave us a look into the fictional lives of trans sex workers on Hollywood Boulevard and gave us an up-close and personal look at a down-and-out porn star's attempt to rebuild his old life “Red Rocket ” from 2021. But nothing Baker has done yet comes close to “Anora,” his Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece that would make Madison a household name. The dazzling shine of the red tinsel woven into Ani's hair lures you into the film's whirlwind from the opening sequence. And once you're in the vortex, enthralled by Madison's extraordinary presence (and the first use of an EDM remix of Take That's “Greatest Day”), Baker keeps you in the film's joyful grip for the film's remaining 139 minutes. Joy instead of euphoria, because as the powerful ending shows, the highs of Anora are not a fleeting feeling.

Baker remains at headquarters, the club where Ani works, as the film settles into its rhythm. We're slowly introduced to Ani's world and watch as she spends the night looking for tips, spending lots of money, and chatting with her fellow dancers about the crappy playlists the DJ puts together. It's an evening like any other until she meets Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the 19-year-old playboy son of a Russian oligarch who is looking for some fun. Ani is the only girl at headquarters who speaks Russian, and her rusty language skills, inherited from her grandmother, perfectly complement Ivan's sexual naivety and boyish charm. Ani leaves the club at dawn with a few extra hundreds in her purse and Ivan's number in her phone, but doesn't think about it until she receives a text from him asking her to come over later that day.

Ani is as enchanted by Ivan's hyperactive obsession with her as she is by her massive home, which soon becomes her big, ugly Brighton Beach ivory tower, when Ivan offers to pay for a full week of the Girlfriend Experience. During these seven days, Ani enjoys the spoils of Ivan's fortune, but remains physically close to him the entire time. When Ivan suggests a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas, Ani feels like she's actually getting both the love and financial security she's always craved. And to her credit, this moment feels natural. Baker remembers the typical way 20-year-olds, struck by their infatuation, talk to each other as they make big confessions of love, hoping the right words will come out of each other's mouths. Every syllable burns like an ember, every word is full of new possibilities. But even when faced with the offer of a four-carat ring, Ani is skeptical. “Don’t tease me with this shit,” she pleads. This isn't a game for Ani, and Ivan, like any good operator, makes her believe he feels the same way.

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Of course, that's not entirely true, which Ani finds out shortly after her wedding in a 24-hour chapel in Vegas. When news of the wedding reaches Russia, Ivan's parents and their henchmen drop by. Igor (Yura Borisov), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Toros (Karren Karagulian) show up at Ivan's villa and politely demand that the two annul their marriage. When Ivan runs away, their polite behavior turns into a loud, expletive-filled afternoon of broken noses and broken vases. It's a hysterical sequence for us as viewers, but amidst the laughter we always remember Ani's shock and confusion, which remains at the forefront throughout the film's central search for Ivan.

During this hunt, Baker cleverly builds small moments of romantic tension between Ani and Igor. Although Ani responds violently to his compassionate greeting, Igor remains smitten with his employer's son's wife. He speaks to her gently, keeping his voice calm, as if he wants to remain the only calming force in all the chaos Ani suddenly has to endure. From the moment they meet, Igor gives Ani the quiet respect and humanity she deserves, which is worth far more than any flashy car or the fleeting clout that comes over you while playing in a club. But the value of being seen by someone else isn't something you naturally realize in your early 20s. In these years, it's easy to equate the sparkling appeal of expensive gifts with romantic gestures. Only when it is too late do we realize that we have been bought.

Mikey Madison as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan in “Anora” (Courtesy of NEON)But it's a life lesson that can only be learned through experience, and Ani is currently taking a crash course on the difference between romance and wealth. She imagines a child's life in which there could be a happy medium, one in which fairy tales can exist and she can be the subject of them. Ani even mentions to her best friend Lulu (Luna Sofia Miranda) that she hopes to spend her honeymoon at Disneyland, where she and Ivan could rent the Cinderella-themed hotel suite. Baker keeps this reference from feeling too intrusive by completely alerting Ani to her rags-to-riches position, but it's still sad to see the wonder in her eyes when we know it will inevitably fade. Even her idea of ​​an idyllic honeymoon when she's with Ivan has a certain amount of commercialism to it. There is no simplicity, no hidden place for the newlywed couple to escape the glamor of wealth that brought them together. What happens if all of this goes away?

As Baker grapples with the fallout, “Anora” slows down and transforms from a slapstick farce into a genuine character study, and that’s when the film shines brightest. We know from the start that Ani won't get everything she wants, and once Ivan's parents catch up with him, Ani's past catches up with her. Ivan thanks her for making his last trip to America so much fun. For him, it is a disposable expression of gratitude. But for Ani, it turns her into an object, a toy that men can have fun with and give up once they're done. When she works at the club, she is in a safe space where emotions like these can be suppressed in her own home. Ani can control this feeling – and even benefit from it – without hurting her heart. But in the real world, when she shows herself vulnerable with one of these men, she realizes how easy it is for someone to cast her aside.

This rapidly growing pile of raw emotions stays with Ani until the end of the film. (And if you haven't seen “Anora,” it might be wise to turn back until you experience the punch in the gut yourself.) Igor is tasked with taking Ani back to Ivan's villa to collect her things, where the Both of them spend the night eating takeout and watching TV. Igor talks to her more than he's ever been able to, and Ani briefly lets her guard down as they laugh at his English pronunciation. They talk about how Americans rarely assign meaning to names, which leads Igor to look for the origin of Ani's full name, Anora. “Bright and bright,” Igor says, and we see the brightness return to Ani’s face for a moment, until she realizes the feelings she’s developing towards him. Even when someone is genuinely interested in her, Ani is too scarred by her romance with Ivan and suspicious of her own judgment. The wall goes up again.

Igor takes Ani back to her house on the shuttle the next morning, just as a rare snowstorm hits Brooklyn. He kindly takes her bags to the door and returns to the car, where the two sit in complete silence before Ani sneaks up on him and climbs on top of him. Her advance is both a test of how he will respond and a way to overcome her rampant confusion. By giving someone physical pleasure, she can take back control. But Igor is different from Ivan and all the men at headquarters; He genuinely cares about Ani, and when his eyes meet hers and he tries to pull her in for a kiss, everything is lost. Ani bursts into tears and puts her head on Igor's shoulder so he can put his arm around her. It's a tangible expression of love that she could never get out of Ivan, who was always too busy partying and playing PlayStation. She lets everything flow out: grief, disappointment and sadness. Ani combines her fear of being truly seen with the fear that Ivan's perception of her as an object may be correct.

And yet no words are spoken. Only the rhythmic idling sound of the car engine and the occasional sound of the windshield wipers evoke a heartbeat. The snow covers everything outside and makes everything new again. It's a powerful ending, as heartbreaking as it is hopeful. But above all, it is human. Baker has made a career out of his sensitive character writing, and “Anora” is no exception. Its beautiful finale brims with the sensitivity that he has made a calling card; Who among us has not survived the storm of our youth only to look up and be overwhelmed by the wreckage of our mistakes? For all the film's other virtues, it's that familiar feeling that elevates “Anora” from entertaining to remarkable. Leave it to Sean Baker to make the heavy darkness of lost love and fleeting youth seem bright and radiant.