ANORA

Anora (2024)

Written & Directed by: Sean Baker

Anora is a young female sex worker.

Even though the movie is named after her,

we won’t get to know her character.

Her life is not truly shared. Her goals and ambitions are not explored. Her family and friends are mostly out of the picture. You’re not sure what she’s doing with all her money. All the basic details that can somehow make you feel closer to Anora is not here.

The movie veered away from Anora and focused more on another man’s tantrums. Too much screaming and shouting is happening while the story is barely progressing.

It’s dragging. Lines have the tendency to become repetitive, adding no value to the scenes. Plotholes are happening just to make the movie longer. The longer it gets, the farther it becomes from being a movie about a sex worker.

The depiction of a strip club is lacking in dimensions. Scenes showing camaradie and competition among workers are insufficient. Both the sex workers and their clients are represented within stereotypes. There’s no effort to know the reasons why men need to avail the service. There’s a little effort to share the struggles of women.

The terms “escort” and “prostitute” are being frowned upon by Anora, yet there’s no discussion on how to address them properly. There’s a line about wages and benefits, yet it didn’t lead to a more engaging discourse. Failing to tackle sex work, 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘢 has become an ordinary rich eats poor story—with an underwhelming direction and insubstantial screenplay.

The actors did their best to give justice to the characters. Whether he’s sober or not, Mark Eydelshteyn is effortless in whatever he does. Yura Borisov is man of few words but his face says otherwise; his eyes can speak to you.

Having a sincere and committed portrayal, Mikey Madison can instantly change moods without awkward transitions. Her sweet tone adds charm to her character. You can hear her cry for respect and self-esteem even without directly saying it. Her hope didn’t falter until the very end.

She’s at her best during the last scene when she becomes her most vulnerable self. We finally get to see through Anora.

The movie gives a glimpse of her at the ending when it’s already too late. The first hour is full of happy hour moments and the next hour is dedicated to finding Ivan. This has become more about Ivan and less about Anora.

Anora ended up as a backdrop to her own movie.

𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗔

Rating: 2/5

Cast: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Aleksei Serebryakov

Presented by: Cre Film, FilmNation Entertainment, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

Release Date: January 22, 2025 exclusively showing in Ayala cinemas nationwide

A Movie Review by: Goldwin Reviews