Reviews

Sean Baker’s Anora has been riding high on the film festival hype ever since it won the Palme d’Or in Cannes in May – and it’s now coming to cinemas.

The film follows its title character Anora (Mikey Madison), or Ani for short, after she paired with Ivan (Mark Eidelstein), the son of a Russian oligarch, at her strip club because she can understand Russian.

They get on like a house on fire and Ivan, also known as Vanya, pays Ani to be his girlfriend for the week. The young lovers get so caught up in the dream that they impulsively tie the knot in Las Vegas, something which doesn’t go down well with Ivan’s parents.

The first half of Anora is perfect – it is an absolute delight and really, really funny. The Cinderella story is endearing and Madison and Eidelstein bounce off each other so well.

Unfortunately, the second half is not on the same level. Once the parents find out about the marriage, the romance story devolves into a lot of screaming and fighting and becomes quite repetitive. It is a stressful and chaotic and Ivan’s presence is missed.

There is a long, drawn-out sequence where Anora and Ivan’s handler Toros (Karren Karagulian) and his heavies Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Igor (Yura Borisov) try to track down Ivan and it makes you really conscious of the runtime (2 hours 19 minutes).

Thankfully, the story returns to form once Ivan comes back and is joined by his parents. Ani refuses to give up without a fight and Igor becomes an interesting character with a sweet storyline.

Madison, who gained notice with 2022’s Scream, proves herself as true star here. Ani is hard as nails on the outside but there is some vulnerability if you look close enough. But Eidelstein, who has been dubbed the Russian Timothee Chalamet, is a scene-stealer thanks to his nerdy, goofy energy.

Anora has won over the hearts of many and it’s easy to see why. It is very likely to be in the conversation this awards season.

In cinemas on Friday 1st November

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