36/21
Story
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, impulsively meets and marries an oligarch’s son
After news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened when her parents leave for New York to annul the marriage. 6 (2021).. A character from a Las Vegas scene "McCarran Airport" Las Vegas International Airport was known as McCarran International Airport for decades and was renamed Harry Reid International Airport in late 2021. Igor: Please!
Mentioned in foreground: Anora (2024)
Stop! Shrill! Daddy AF was written and performed by Catherine Slater (aka Slayyter). Anora is the initial masterpiece of Sean Baker’s career and offers very rich and thoughtful class commentary that continues to vilify sex workers and ruin other people’s lives for a good while without thinking about the consequences for them.
There’s strong support
It’s great when it works like Pretty Woman and only gets better when it shifts gears into uncut gem territory with a taut second half. Her stellar performance builds on that, proving she’s fit for more leading roles. She’s so confident and endlessly likable while refusing to back down. It makes everything incredibly invested, because you want her to get the fairytale ending she’s promised, and each time you cling to a little bit of hope, even when reality sets in.
The characters, too
Mark Eydelshteyn makes Ivan look good despite his obvious flaws before sadly revealing him to be a spoiled, cowardly brat. Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan, and Karren Karagulian are the likable trio who spend most of their screen time dealing with a dangerous job that quickly spirals into a spectacular comedy of errors. So you feel really bad for them. Sean Baker’s The direction is impressive, the tone catches the air, allowing it to make the big shift with grace and a surprising opening that sets the scene beautifully.
As it runs 139 minutes, its editing stands out by not feeling long
That’s a good thing, as the home invasion sequence goes on for a while and continues to escalate, and it certainly helps in the city-wide search for Ivan in the middle section.