2024 proved to be quite a year for cinema. The world had largely gotten past the COVID 19 pandemic of the early 2020s, and large audiences were returning to the movie theatres once more. Films like Wicked, Conclave, Dune Part II, and A Complete Unknown were the recipients of commercial and critical success, and each was mooted to win the top prize at the Academy Awards in March 2025. Yet the surprise winner for Best Picture went to Anora, a $6 million dollar romantic-comedy drama movie that suddenly took the world by storm. It almost brings to mind Bong Joon-Ho coming out of nowhere with his social commentary/black comedy film Parasite (2019) and triumphing over the war epic 1917 at the Academy Awards back in 2020. Sean Baker first won over audiences with his 2000 debut Four Little Words. He then followed that up with indie movies such as Take Out, Prince of Broadway, Starlet, and Tangerine. As a filmmaker, Baker tends to centre his work around marginalized individuals such as immigrants, poor people, and sex workers. In 2017, Baker received critical acclaim and accolades for The Florida Project. Despite its success, the film only earned one Academy Award nomination for Willem Dafoe’s performance. Now, Baker has struck gold with his latest work, and he is the only individual to have won four Oscars for the same film- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. This is an unprecedented event in Academy Awards history, and it stands to reason that Baker could hold the record for a very long time.

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Anora “Ani” Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) is a stripper who works in New York City’s club scene and lives in Brooklyn with her sister. She’s 23 years old and trying to make her way in the world. While Anora is hard-working and detached, she also tends to be impulsive, resorts to dishing out sarcastic quips, and doesn’t seem to consider long-term consequences of her actions. However, she does have a soft spot for struggling working class people. Not much is revealed about her personal life, but it is implied that she has a frosty, distant relationship with
her parents who are said to be living elsewhere. She also has Russian heritage, yet she downplays this aspect of her background. During a work shift at the night club, Anora meets one client Ivan Sakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), a 21-year old student and the son of a Russian
oligarch. He’s boyishly-cute, awkward, and fun-loving, but he is also shown to be rather lazy and immature. After Ivan hires Anora to dance for him, he grows to become fond of her, which leads to his hiring her on a regular basis. Following a New Year’s Eve party, Ivan bribes her with $15,000 to be his girlfriend for an upcoming weeklong trip to Las Vegas.

In Las Vegas, the couple have a lavish, party-fuelled experience which both enjoy immensely. On the spur of the moment, Ivan proposes marriage to Anora, because he doesn’t want to go back to Russia. It seems that his father Nikolai Sakharov wants him to return home and go to work for his company, which is something that he doesn’t want to do. Obtaining a green card is the only way that he can break free of his parents’ control and stay in America permanently. Although she’s reluctant to commit, Anora asks him if he is indeed being sincere, to which he states that he is. The young couple get married, and Anora moves into his New York estate after quitting her job.

Anora and Ivan’s nuptials do not go over well with the latter’s controlling mother Galina (Darya Ekamasova) and weak-willed father (Aleksei Serebrvakov) back in Russia. Upon the news getting out, they fear their son has married a prostitute and decide to break the couple up. Both send their fixer and Ivan’s Armenian godfather Toros (Karren Karagulian) to have the marriage be declared null and void, but this is not going to happen without complications. Toros sends two underlings Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnik (Vache Tovmasyan) to retrieve Ivan from the mansion. Anora is shaken upon hearing of their demands, and she expresses fury to hear them calling her a prostitute who tricked Ivan into marrying her as part of a green card arrangement. Deeply shaken by the home invasion, Ivan runs from the property on foot, leaving Anora to be bound and restrained against her will after a tense fight with Garnik and Igor.

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When Toros arrives, he explains that Ivan has a history of reckless immature behaviour and that he’s still financially-dependent on his parents. It becomes clear that Toros has been Ivan’s minder and problem-solver for years, and he has grown sick and tired of keeping the young man out of trouble. He explains that Anora and Ivan will get their marriage annulled as if it never happened and offers to pay her $10,000 if she agrees to the annulment. Anora refuses to give in to the plan, but she agrees to help Toros locate Ivan. They embark on a search throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan to find him, with Igor and Garnik in tow. While Garnik is a mindless thug, Igor seems to have some sympathy for Anora’s difficult situation. He doesn’t enjoy the job that they’re doing, and he’s also bitter at having to work on his birthday. For Anora, who’s furious at being held hostage, it all becomes a quest to track Ivan down and determine whether or not he was ever serious about marriage at all.

Upon finding Ivan at the club where she used to work, Anora manages to get him over to a New York courthouse. However, when the annulment attempt begins, Toros holds up the proceedings by repeatedly shouting at the judge, and Ivan is too drunk to speak or pay
attention. The judge is sympathetic to Anora and takes time to listen to her, but the annulment is ultimately dismissed due to the nuptials having taken place in Las Vegas. Further complicating things, the arrival of Ivan’s parents proves to make things even more difficult for
Anora than she could have anticipated. The group is expected to fly out to Nevada and annul the marriage there. Since she never signed a prenuptial agreement, Anora vows to divorce Ivan for a big portion of his wealth, but Galina threatens to ruin her and her family if she does not agree to the annulment. It will all come down to a decision that Anora will have to make, but she also wants to know if Ivan ever loved her.

Mikey Madison proves herself capable of headlining a film. She’s charismatic, likeable and endearing as Anora, and with her Oscar win for Best Actress, it seems she is set for a long career in entertainment. Having shot to fame with the FX show Better Things, Madison became an established movie actress with her roles in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and Scream. The actress makes Anora sympathetic and relatable to audiences by depicting her naivety and growing sense of cynicism. It is her disbelief, horror and fury at the changing circumstances that show the actress’ dramatic range. She also manages to show a comedic side during the rapid-fire banter in the fight sequence between Anora and the Russian thugs.

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Mark Edyelshteyn brings a cocky, affable dimension to Ivan, who is playful and charming yet not particularly bright. Edyelshteyn succeeds in showing Ivan’s insecurity about having to face his parents. That cowardice also hints at a fear of having to grow up. Yet it is increasingly
frustrating to see the character continue to duck responsibility, avoid facing the consequences for his actions, and discarding “friends” and followers when he feels they’ve outlived their usefulness. While Edyelshteyn’s character isn’t a malicious type, he is still thoughtless and
cares nothing for the people who get hurt in the process. It almost brings to mind the Buchanans getting off with no comeuppance for their actions in The Great Gatsby.

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Another pleasant surprise in the cast is Yuri Borisov as Igor. Despite appearing to be a bland, generic thug of few words, he’s shown to demonstrate moments of insight and sympathy as the film progresses. Borisov gives the character depth and makes him an observer who slowly becomes a participant in Anora’s story. What’s more, he actually shows concern and worry about Anora’s emotional well-being. This sensitive side to his portrayal makes the Russian actor appealing is his quiet, understated moments, such as enduring a long-winding chase that happens taking place on his birthday. Having been nominated as Best Supporting Actor, Borisov looks to be set for a career as a character actor.

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The rest of the cast does well in their roles. Karren Karagulian is excellent as Toros, and one cannot help but believe he’s worn down by having to put up with Ivan’s problems. While he is initially set up as an antagonist, he comes as being somewhat sympathetic to Anora and to the viewers. Karagulian gives a realistic portrayal of a man experiencing world-weariness and exasperation. While not being involved until the film’s second half, Darya Ekamasova comes off as the closest thing to a villain as Ivan’s mother Galina, and her cold, driven nature makes the character unsettling. Her not-so-subtle threat to ruin Anora’s name and life is perhaps one of the most chilling ultimatums depicted on film. Aleksei Serebryakov brings a henpecked husband vibe to the role of Ivan’s father, Nikolai. Despite being frequently mentioned as a powerful Russian oligarch, Nikolai appears to be something of a weak-willed man who’s dominated by his wife, which suggests this is where Ivan learned his sense of immaturity and avoiding consequences. That being said, he does provide a few light-hearted moments of comic relief when reacting to Anora’s sarcastic insults.

Anora is perhaps Baker’s best work as a filmmaker. Some critics and viewers have compared the film to the Julia Roberts vehicle Pretty Woman- albeit without the “white knight saviour” aspect of the latter. Others, however, have criticized the movie for allegedly using stereotypes about sex workers and suggesting that they need to be saved. Baker’s direction ensures the film is a tight and focused narrative. Frequent close-up shots and Steadicam takes give a naturalistic feel for the narrative. Shot in New York and Nevada over the course of 37 days, the movie comes off as a 1970s-type drama. The director selected Kodak 35 mm film with 4-perf widescreen anamorphic, which gives the movie a natural, realistic look. As a result, the film feels like a cinema verite documentary at times. The mansion sequences were actually filmed in an estate in Brighton Beach that was formerly owned by a real-life Russian oligarch, which is interesting but coincidental.

The music is also a pleasant aspect of the film. Baker incorporates a mixture of pop, rock, house and club songs to echo the sounds of nightclub culture. Russian duo t.A.T.u features prominently on the soundtrack with “All The Things She Said.” Other artists include Brit Fox, Tyler Royale, Danny G, Roman Molino Dunn, Red Hammer, DMX, and Iggy Azalea. Perhaps the best selection is a reworking of the pop song “Greatest Day” by English boyband Take That. It is both anthemic and uplifting to listen to, but within the context of the film, the track proves to be ironic as things do not go as Anora hoped they would.

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Overall, Anora is a unique, quirky type of dramedy, and it will go down as one of the most surprising Best Picture winners in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Baker continues to surprise critics and audiences, and now he is set for an even longer career as a filmmaker. Mikey Madison has earned her status as a Hollywood A-list actress. Four and a half out of five stars