Film Review - Anora
Images courtesy of KISMET movies.
Sean Baker’s Anora follows the story of a young sex worker hired by the son of a Russian oligarch. Their whirlwind romance results in a Vegas wedding that her husband Vanya’s family rushes to annul. Anora is a technical masterpiece - Baker’s approach to casting leads the audience to believe they’re watching a documentary instead of a drama. The approach to costume, colouring and editing looks fresh without stealing attention from the story. This is unfortunate, as the story lacks coherence and narrative logic.
Anora hinges on the audience’s urge to observe a spectacle, rather than engaging their empathy for the working class. Mikey Madison’s performance is nuanced and well considered, but there is little one actor can do to make up for a character who is only written skin deep. It was hard to believe that someone who is paid for sex would fall in love, and shift their entire lifestyle in the span of two weeks, especially when denying a client’s advances could be a risk to their physical safety. Anora and Vanya’s wedding was sudden, and it appears to be the only evidence of Anora’s continued infatuation. Sean Baker builds the film around Anora’s urge to be respected as Vanya’s wife, but doesn’t bother to show us why she would want this more than money or safety. The remainder of Anora consisted of a drawn-out procession of crime and comedy sketches, often using violence against Anora as the punchline.
Sean Baker’s attempt to 'remove the stigma that's been applied to this livelihood' comes across as a voyeuristic money-making exercise. If this film was written in good faith with the rights of sex workers in mind, why did Sean Baker pull the greatest profit? Take Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour - instead of a gratuitous cash grab, her choice to donate profits to charity showed her moral position better than any of Sean Baker’s red carpet soundbites ever could. The positive reviews and award nominations for Anora say less about the quality of its storytelling and more about the ethos of those picking their favourites. What’s so compelling about a woman being treated poorly? Anora’s shiny packaging fails to hide its soulless interior.
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Anora is screening in cinemas from Boxing Day. For tickets and more info, click here.