Anora depicts a modern-day love story set in New York City, USA. But her fairy tale love story is not as simple. In reality, her present-day tale is like a twisted romantic comedy.
“Anora” Wants A Fairy Tale Love Story But Then Harsh Realities Of Modern Times Hits Back Hard
Spoiler Free Review of the Anora (2024) Movie
The trailer
Synopsis
Ani (Mikey Madison) is a young and attractive exotic dancer and sex worker hailing from Brooklyn. Her life undergoes a dramatic shift when she encounters Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) aka Vanya, the reckless son of a Russian Billionaire, and they marry on a whim. However, upon learning of the marriage, Vanya’s parents dispatch their enforcers to dissolve the union, igniting a frantic pursuit through the streets of New York. So, what happens to her Cinderella love story? And what about the love of her life and a happy ending?
Key details
| Genre | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Original Languages | English (USA & Russian accent) and a little bit of Russian |
| Duration | 2 hours 19 minutes |
| Writer | Sean Baker |
| Director | Sean Baker |
| Cast | Mikey Madison (Ani/Anora), Mark Eydelshteyn (Ivan), Lindsey Normington (Diamond), Karren Karagulian (Toros), Vache Tovmasyan (Garnick), Yura Borisov (Igor), Darya Ekamasova (Galina Zakharov), Aleksey Serebryakov (Nikolai Zakharov), Paul Weissman (Nick), etc. |
| Tagline | Love is a hustle. |
| Producer | Cre Film |
| Distributor | NEON |
| Networks | Amazon, Prime Video, Apple TV, etc. |
Please Note: This movie is R (A/18+) rated. As it has graphic nudity, drug use, pervasive language and strong sexual content.
Writer/Director Sean Baker’s screenplay and movie
Well, Sean Baker has pleasantly surprised us with this modern-day love story of Anora. For all those, who have fond memories of the Pretty Woman (1990) movie, they all wished for similar fairy tales with the Anora (2024) movie. But then that was not to be. More so when the girl is poor American and the boy is rich Russian. That can not be a coincidence, right? Mind you, it is not about Americans versus Russians.
Sean Baker has played smart with his storyline, especially in a world where people are well aware of the grim realities of life. The rich and poor divide is ever-widening. We all realize the class divide. Sean Baker knows that, too. We loved his screenplay and direction, which paint a realistic picture of life in the connected global world we all inhabit. Perhaps it is time to be realistic. Life is not a fairy tale.
Movies Characters
However, it seems that the protagonist Anora (Ani) did not realize that. Maybe she felt like the modern-era Cinderella. She was swept off her feet, literally. No doubt, she had fallen head over heels with her present-day prince charming. Moreover, Anora (Ani) sincerely believe that she got extremely lucky and finally caught a whale, a young heir of an Oligarch Billionaire from Russia. As the following verbal exchange in the movie stated.
Diamond: Caught your whale?
Ani: Seems I did, didn't I?
[Ani chuckles condescendingly while walking away]
Diamond: I give it two weeks, bitch.
Ani: [Ani pauses, turns around, continues talking condescendingly] Oh, Diamond. Oh, sweetie. You know, I really hope you find your happiness one day. I really hope...
Diamond: [cuts her off] I hope you find a fucking plastic surgeon-
[Anora mockingly kisses her on the lips]
Diamond: what the fuck?
[a club guard breaks them up]
Diamond: Play in my fucking face again, bitch, see what happens. You're a fucking bitch!
Ani: [Walks away] Oh, stay jealous, babe. Stay jealous, honey. Jealousy is a disease, remember that, Diamond. I'm just gonna go chill in my mansion or whatever, you know, no big deal!
About Actors (Males & Females)
Realities bite. Then life happens for Ani/Anora (Mikey Madison), and it hits her hard. Just when she was living and breathing her dream life. Mikey Madison’s portrayal of Anora is impressive, to state the obvious. She has given it all. A few years back, we saw her playing a young teenager in the Better Things (2016-2022) Series. Now, she is all grown up. Playing the lead character with her style and charisma. She was captivating to watch.
But then, we also admire the supporting characters of Russians. All of these performers were wonderful to watch – Yura Borisov (Igor), Karren Karagulian (Toros), Vache Tovmasyan (Garnick), Darya Ekamasova (Galina Zakharov), Aleksey Serebryakov (Nikolai Zakharov), Mark Eydelshteyn (Ivan/Vanya), etc. We liked the entire ensemble cast. However, if we have to pick one, then it will be Yura Borisov. His depiction of a strong, silent, empathetic and understanding man was almost perfect.
The word Vanya uses to insult Igor and Garnick and Anora later picks up on, gopnik, is a word in former Soviet republics for a member of urban criminal subculture, or a young hoodlum.
The conclusion
All of us were rooting for Anora, to find some kind of happy and optimistic closure in the end. We wanted her topsy-turvy love life to find a firm and realistic footing. It was an interesting finale scene in the movie, and that is really up to the viewers’ interpretations. Sean Baker did manage to make the last scene of the movie, a memorable one. Did Anora find the love of her life, her soulmate? Well, you be the judge of that.
Rating of this (2024) Modern Day Fairy Tale Love Story
| FM Rating | 4.00/5 |
Awards Won by the Anora (2024) Movie, so far
| Names of the Awards | Details about the Award Winners |
|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | Sean Baker – 2024 Winner Palme d’Or |
| Critics Choice Awards Celebration of Cinema & Television | Samantha Quan – 2024 Winner Producer Award – AAPI Cinema & Television |
| Imagine Film Festival, NL | Sean Baker – 2024 Winner Silver Scream – Audience Award |
| Mill Valley Film Festival | Mikey Madison – 2024 Winner Mill Valley Film Festival Award – Breakthrough Performance |
| British Independent Film Awards | 2024 Winner British Independent Film Award – Best International Independent Film, Sponsored by Champagne Taittinger – Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan |
| Virginia Film Festival | 2024 Winner Achievement in Acting Award – Mikey Madison |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | 2025 Winner Breakthrough Performance Award – Mikey Madison (actress) |
| AFI Awards, USA | 2025 Winner AFI Award – Movie of the Year |
Anora, an American film has won the Palme d'Or for the first time since The Tree of Life, which was awarded in 2011.
NEON has achieved the distinction of distributing the fifth film in succession to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in the United States, following the festival's cancellation in 2020. The films that came before this one include Parasite (2019), Titane (2021), Triangle of Sadness (2022), and Anatomy of a Fall (2023).
Poster of this (2024) Modern Day Fairy Tale Love Story
Award Nominations Won by the Anora (2024) Movie, as of now
| Names of the Awards | Details of the Awards Nominations |
|---|---|
| Golden Globes, USA | Mikey Madison – 2025 Nominee Golden Globe – Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy Sean Baker – 2025 Nominee Golden Globe – Best Director, Motion Picture Yura Borisov – 2025 Nominee Golden Globe -Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture Sean Baker – 2025 Nominee Golden Globe – Best Screenplay, Motion Picture 2025 Nominee Golden Globe – Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Mikey Madison – 2025 Nominee Actor – Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Yura Borisov – 2025 Nominee Actor – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role 2025 Nominee Actor – Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture – Yura Borisov, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Mikey Madison, Aleksey Serebryakov, Vache Tovmasyan, etc. |
| Critics Choice Awards | 2025 Nominee Critics Choice Award – Best Picture Sean Baker – 2025 Nominee Critics Choice Award – Best Original Screenplay Mikey Madison – 2025 Nominee Critics Choice Award – Best Actress Sean Baker – 2025 Nominee Critics Choice Award – Best Editing Yura Borisov – 2025 Nominee Critics Choice Award – Best Supporting Actor Sean Baker – 2025 Nominee Critics Choice Award – Best Director 2025 Nominee Critics Choice Award – Best Acting Ensemble |
The Poster and the Featured Image of the Anora (2024) Movie are credited to NEON & IMDb.