‘Anora‘, Sean Baker‘s film that won the Golden Palm at Cannes this year, begins as a romantic story whose protagonist is a Cinderella who is a stripper and prostitute, and continues as a violent drama that takes place in the Russian community environment of New York. This unique combination is made possible by the script by Sean Baker, who wrote and prepared this film for several years. The result is an engaging film, which nevertheless seemed a little too long at times, a film that overturns prejudices and refuses to embellish the sordid reality of a genre of stories that have already been brought to the screen many times, but with artificial sweeteners and polishes.
Ani / Anora is 23 years old, she dances and offers her services in a New York nightclub. Understanding the Russian language learned from an immigrant grandmother, she is hired one night by Ivan, a somewhat confused young man who seems to have unlimited financial resources. Ivan invites Ani for ‘private services’ in the super-luxurious villa where he lives. The two begin to like each other beyond the client-prostitute relationship, although Ivan continues to pay. He seems to have infinite resources, because he is the son of Russian oligarchs, who had sent him to study in America. Just like in ‘Pretty Woman’ (the quote is obvious) Ivan hires Ani for a week and then takes her to Las Vegas. There – whim or feelings, what does it matter? – they get married. Do the two young people start to take their relationship seriously? This will be tested when Ivan’s parents, learning of their son’s unwanted marriage, send the gangsters under their command to break them up. The fairy tale turns into a nightmare.
Several themes, none completely new in American cinema, combine in ‘Anora‘, and it is precisely the way in which this mixture is made and the fluent style of the narrative that make this film attractive, a film that will disturb many, but will also attract fans of many different genres, from romantic comedy, through erotic thriller and even films with cartoonish gangsters (possibly Russian). Mikey Madison proves to be a formidable and courageous actress, because such a role can launch a great career, but it can also block it if the following casting opportunities are not as generous, but especially not different. Part of the cast comes from Russia, which is to be appreciated, because it is a type of collaboration that has become rarer in recent years. Mark Eydelshteyn seems to be a very interesting actor, although his role is a bit in the shadow of that of the main heroine. The one who dominates the screen in the second part of the film, one could say even beyond the dimensions of his role as a gangster hiding personal secrets, is Yura Borisov, a famous actor in Russia, whom we have already seen in the Finnish film ‘Compartment Number 9’. The filming manages to be extremely authentic, the director and the cameramen feel good in all the environments where the story takes place: nightclubs, the New York apartment of the Russian oligarchs, New York, Las Vegas. The denouement of the narrative is somewhat predictable, because Cinderella is not exactly a princess in waiting here, and the prince does not exactly have the character of a prince. The final scene, however, leaves itself open to interpretations and is yet another reason to continue thinking about this film even after the screening has ended.