The return of Sean Baker is not to be taken lightly. After thrilling us with 2021’s Red Rocket, this newest offering continues to build on a career known for illuminating the lives of those often forgotten by society. This time, we follow a young sex worker named Anora after she meets a young rich client who eventually proposes to her—a union soon endangered by his powerful family. Though it may seem like a straightforward plot, something I appreciate about Baker’s films is the amount of complexity they lend to situations and characters. At once a heart-wrenching commentary on gender and an insightful exploration of class and wealth inequality, this movie not only showcases Baker’s strengths but also seems to have provided him the opportunity to reach toward something new. Maybe that’s why it’s the first US film to win the Palm D’Or at Cannes in over a decade.
I think a big part of what made this film so successful is Mikey Madison’s performance as the titular character. Even before listening to her speak about how much work she did to research this role, it was clear Madison came prepared. From the accent to the small details of her facial expressions, she fully embodies this character with reckless abandon. Her performance is thunderous, using an emotional range to electrify the film with a dynamic energy that seemed to rub off on the supporting cast. From the comedic timing to the generally organic nature of their interactions, all the actors did a wonderful job. Yuriy Borisov was particularly memorable as Igor; I think his stoic affect provided a great tonal contrast to the sheer chaos of Madison and Co. It also, obviously, helps that these performances were beautifully photographed.
Cinematographer Drew Daniels did a wonderful job capturing the frenetic energy of the characters with his handheld camerawork. This also created a kind of tender subjectivity, as if we were experiencing this whole thing right beside Anora, thereby making us more able to empathize with her character. In some moments, as characters are yelling about what they think should be done with her future and her marriage, Baker chose to keep the camera locked on Anora, regardless of how entertaining the surrounding mayhem might have been, and that was such a smart decision. It keeps us grounded in her perspective and experience. This choice also informed the lighting. Bathing the film in all the neon New York City has to offer, Baker creates a kind of surreal dreamscape, easily making Anora’s delusions our reality until the sobering gut-punch ending that takes place in the snow amid stark, cold tones. It’s a film that doesn’t shy away from the glitz and glam, which only makes us that much more disillusioned when it all falls apart. Maybe this is why its paced so differently from Baker’s other movies.
In this film, there’s a much more apparent willingness to hang in certain moments rather than the efficient cutting Baker’s so well known for. This isn’t to say the film drags by any means. There are a few scenes where you feel the time just a bit, but I think that was intentional. Much like Tolstoy’s War and Peace or even Leone’s The Good the Bad and the Ugly, the length of these scenes both allows the characters time to develop naturally, giving us a solid grasp on their relationship dynamics, but it also allows them to transcend their specificity, becoming almost mythic in their universal scope. By keeping us in some moments for so long, Baker is allowing us to see how common Anora’s position really is. Exploited for her labor, tossed about by the whims of the rich and powerful, Anora becomes a kind of everyman, making her resistance that much more satisfying, and the ending that much more heartbreaking. It’s a beautiful, intimate, violent movie. In short: Baker’s back, baby! Anora hits theaters October 18th and you’d be seriously missing out if you didn’t go see it.
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