"Anora" (2024) Review: Oscar Nominations on the Horizon

The hype train keeps rolling for Sean Baker’s “Anora” heading into Oscar season, and it finally made its way to my TV screen for a review. This sultry, aggressively horny story of impulse marriage is both interesting and uninteresting at the same time.

Anora, or “Ani,” (Mikey Madison) is a professional dancer at a local strip joint and is good at what she does. While working one night, she meets Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the 21-year-old son of a Russian oligarch. That quickly lights a spark in Ani’s brain, and the idea of marriage and money takes over.

However, what happens after the impulse is the more interesting part of this film.

“Anora” (2024) Review: Oscar Nominations On The Horizon

Mikey Madison Leads the Way

This film has some great acting, which is one of the highlights in its entirety. The flowers that Madison has been receiving for the titular role are completely justified. She likely has an Oscar nomination for her work forthcoming. Madison is fierce in this performance. It’s a no-holds-barred display in a role that was probably not the most comfortable to undertake.

I found Eydelshteyn as Ivan completely annoying, but I assume that’s part of the bit. I thought his acting was OK, although I don’t know how difficult it is to play a stoned, drunk, horned-up 21-year-old for two hours.

However, one of the better performances that isn’t being talked about is from Yura Borisov, who plays “Igor,” one of the henchmen (or bodyguards) for Ivan and the family. While he is pretty quiet for most of the film, his actions and facial expressions are done very well. You feel what he feels and sense there is more to this man than meets the eye. It’s probably my favorite performance and character from this film.

Baker Cooking Behind the Camera

Aside from the acting, the screenplay is the most likely runner-up for the best part of this film. Baker not only directed but also wrote “Anora.” It’s an interesting enough story about false love and a young woman trying to exploit money. Though I found the second half of this much more entertaining, the dialogue itself is exhausting. It has shades of “Uncut Gems” in the sense that it is a ton of screaming and shouting; it’s not for everyone. Still, Baker will certainly get an Oscar nomination for “Best Original Screenplay” and most likely for “Best Director.”

It’s a pretty good-looking film as well. It was not overpowering and gorgeous by any means, but I felt the pallet and lenses Baker decided to use captured the city nightlife. Purples, blues, reds and all darker hues intensify the club scenes. Then, in daylight, there was almost a sense of haze at times. I look at that as a state of our characters. They’re constantly partying all night, so naturally, you’d think that the world is quite hazy for them during the daylight hours.

Oscar Nominations Are Inevitable

Overall, I enjoyed this film, but not as much as many people did. I had a hard time connecting with the characters for the most part and I also found the first half of this to be kind of grating at times. In the second half, it finds itself, almost as if switching genre from erotic thriller to crime thriller. “Anora” will be popular at the 2025 Oscars, but it’s a film that I likely will not watch again.

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James Danielson

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“Anora” (2024) Review: Oscar Nominations on the Horizon