Anora (2024) TIFF Review: A Cinderella Story of a stripper and a Russian oligarch

Director Sean Baker decided to risk it all when he announced ‘Anora’- this year’s recipient of the coveted ‘Palme d’Or’ at Cannes. And believe me, it’s worth being the first American film to win it since 2011.

Born in Brighton Beach, a neighbourhood in New York City popular with Russophones, Anora (Mikey Madison) is a young Uzbek-American stripper. Ani’s (her nickname) supervisor puts her in touch with Russian-speaking clients because of her professional working proficiency in Russian. Along with his wish to evade deportation, a romance blossoms after meeting Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch, and ultimately results in their elopement.

The quick nuptials are followed almost instantly with an even faster honeymoon phase, that lasts for a period shorter than sunrise to sunset. Ani finds herself falling slowly in love with Vanya, despite not meaning to. As Ani becomes the devoted wife, the thoughtless Vanya offhandedly mentions acquiring a green card as he is hell-bent on working for his negligent father.

The more Ani gets emotionally tangled up, the more Vanya’s child-like character emerges, leading to inevitable chaos.  To make matters worse, Vanya’s rich parents send their henchmen to New York to facilitate an urgent annulment.

Vanya’s parents, Nikolai and Galina, recruited three henchmen: Toros (Karren Karagulian), an Orthodox priest; Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), an Armenian henchman; and Igor (Yuri Borisov), a Russian henchman, to keep an eye on Vanya, dissolve his marriage to Ani, and transport him back to Russia.

Clearly wary of their son’s antics, they aren’t as shocked as you would anticipate when they learn of his impromptu nuptials. One of the thugs, Igor, is a decent guy, who has a low-key crush on Ani. Unbeknownst to the audience, he plays a vital, formidable role in maintaining Ani’s sanity through the insane ordeal. The final showdown culminates with Vanya’s parents’ visit to New York with the intention of filing for Ani/Vanya’s divorce. Naturally, their happily ever after marriage is put in jeopardy.

The story is a striptease. Think burlesque, lap dances and lots of explicit content. Still, the story is really good, so it’s not simply the sex that sells. Mikey Madison’s guts and vulnerability display her skills in portraying the sexy, disturbed, enigmatic Ani. Mark confidently navigates the role of the entitled Vanya, who lacks nothing and genuinely believes that there is nothing money can’t buy. Even love.

The movie’s timeline is interesting, transitioning from coverage of a few weeks in the first half to a single night’s events in the second half as a determined Ani and three henchmen try to track an MIA Vanya.

In the final moments of the movie, the whole audience was quietly emotional watching Ani trying to be brave. Whether you like it or not, those last moments are probably one of the many reasons it won so many accolades. You just won’t expect it.