Movie Review: Mikey Madison Makes ‘Anora’ One of the Most Memorable Films of 2024

Actress Mikey Madison is in a unique position where her first starring role, Sean Baker’s Anora, might not only catapult her into leading lady status, but also possibly make her the next Best Actress winner at the Academy Awards.

Not since Audrey Hepburn in William Wyler’s Roman Holiday (1953) has someone shot up to stardom this impressively. On the other end, Baker has garnered so much praise, he’s now starting to receive his first share of criticism from certain viewers. Together, they create one of the most memorable releases of 2024.

In modern day Brooklyn, Anora ‘Ani’ Mikheeva (Madison), lives with her sister when she’s not stripping in town and turning tricks on the side. Though she makes decent money, she doesn’t turn down the chance to elope with one of her richest customers, Ivan ‘Vanya’ Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), who is a Russian heir spending time at his parents’ vacation home in New York. Once word gets back home that Vanya married a stripper while visiting Las Vegas for fun, three men who work for his father suddenly show up to force an annulment. 

Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan play the hired henchmen for Vanya’s family, while Luna Sofia Miranda and Lindsey Normington appear as two of Ani’s co-workers at the strip club. Anora has been cheekily getting called the antithesis of classic “hooker romcoms” like Blake Edwards’ Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and Garry Marshall’s Pretty Woman (1990).

While the ads do make the film seem more in line with the romantic comedy genre, the first half actually leans closer to Paul Brickman’s Risky Business (1983), if it were from the perspective of Rebecca De Mornay’s character. A lot of the middle act reminded me of Old Hollywood legend Billy Wilder, a la Irma La Douce (1963) and his screenplay for Howard Hawks’ Ball of Fire (1941) as well.

Unfortunately — and this may just be a “me” problem — I was so wrapped up in the romcom-turned-screwball tone of Anora (especially when we get the title character gradually spending more time with Borisov’s Igor than Vanya), I was a little disappointed it concluded with Baker’s signature cynicism.

No doubt the film is filled with vulgar language, graphic sex and a-hole characters, but throughout the second act I felt the underlying sweetness between Ani and Igor could have deserved a happier ending, but alas. Maybe I’m just a traditional movie fan.

On a sidenote, Anora also appears to be the Baker project where film audiences are starting to wonder if his preference for sex work as a backdrop — whether it’s stripping with Anora, pornography with Red Rocket (2021) or prostitution with Tangerine (2015) — is so visceral, it feels exploitative. Baker insists in interviews that his intention is to humanize one of the most stigmatized groups in society. But the combination of the graphic sequences on top of a dark satirical tone can make one wonder if the direction is mocking the subject more than sympathizing with it.

I’ve personally never had issue with Baker’s films or other films with sex workers as leads. I’m a longtime fan of Pretty Woman, Risky Business, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and P.T. Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997). I don’t particularly see myself as a huge fan of Baker’s work, but I’ll admit he is good at his craft and am not personally offended by his technique. Though, I did raise an eyebrow when I read intimacy coordinators weren’t hired for the sex scenes in Anora.

As far as how well his movies and popularity are going to age, I think he’ll probably be fine. If Gen X indie filmmakers like Vincent Gallo, Larry Clark and Harmony Korine can still have followings in 2024 after their own accusations of exploitation, so can Baker. For Anora’s final consensus, excluding my personal feelings on the ending, it’s a nicely paced romp with some very funny scenes, and all the critics and pundits are right about this being a star-making performance from Madison.