Deborah Ross

Yes, Anora is as good as everyone says it is

Sean Baker's latest film is a romance, comedy, dark tragedy, caper, told with such energy its 140-minute running time feels like no time at all

Beautiful and devastating: Mark Eidelstein as Ivan and Mikey Madison as Ani in Sean Baker’s Anora. © Universal Pictures 
issue 23 November 2024

Sean Baker’s Anora won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and is hotly tipped to win big at the Oscars and I know you won’t believe it’s as good as everyone is saying it is until you hear it from me so here you are: yes, it’s as good as everyone is saying it is.

All the cast are stellar but Madison is mesmerising and carries the whole thing

It stars Mikey Madison – who is a total knockout – as a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch. But this is not Pretty Woman. This film takes Pretty Woman and smashes that fantasy over its knee, but with heart and soul and in a way that is as compelling as it is surprising. It came out a while ago but is still in cinemas so do yourselves a favour and get on it. It beats Gladiator II handsus downus.

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