Anora Reviews

Summary Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

• Comedy

• Drama

• Romance

Each change of tone is handled with sinuous ease by Baker, one of the best independent directors, who is finally getting the props he deserves.

Endlessly entertaining and frequently hysterical, “Anora” is one of the year’s best films and a formidable Oscar contender.

Anora reminds us  what movies made for adults look like as well as the emotions they can make us feel over the course of two hours.  The film is Sean Baker’s crowning achievement and one of the best movies of 2024.  Highly recommended. detroitcineaste

When I sat down to watch this, I didn't even know what it was about, especially that it was nominated for an Oscar. I just saw the trailer and thought: "Ha-ha stripper". So when I turned it on I wasn't expecting this to be decent. So I was surprised to see that this actually was entertaining and funny, and the picture with these graphics and lights looked so delicious to my own beautiful eyes.

Every character in Anora might be an utter nightmare, but they’re also a joy to spend time with, and the cast understand them down to their smallest behavioural tells.

The film is very funny, until it punches you in the gut with a beautiful ending, and it entirely rests on Madison’s performance as the tough-as-nails Anora.

Like Mikey Madison’s title character, Anora is pretty, messy, witty, wild, and highly competent, one of the funniest, saddest, and best films of the year.

Anora fizzes with energy and laugh-out-loud moments, but it isn't recommended for anyone with high blood pressure. It builds into the kind of hectic farce in which not just one person is stressed: everyone is stressed.

Anora lacks the raw emotion, street energy and urgency of Baker’s transgender romp “Tangerine” — and the pathos of his acclaimed peek at childhood homelessness in the “paradise” of “The Florida Project.”

Tensão e andrelina pura. Anora é muito divertir e bem engraçados em alguns momentos e que conta com um ritmo frenetico do começo ao fim

Anora starts in the first act as this Cinderella, romance story with a sex worker getting the dream life of marrying a rich boy. It's fast-paced, loud, and visually chaotic with all the excessive partying and gratuitous sex. It then changes tone completely in the second act where it slows down and starts being more comedic. The scene at the house is quite funny and entertaining because of its absurdity. The final act changes tone again and becomes a more serious, thought-provoking drama with a genuinely strong ending. However, despite it all, I wasn't as blown away by this as others. I didn't find the dialogue or writing interesting or memorable. The constant talking over each other, and constant f-bombs just don't leave much impact. When the film slows down, it feels like it takes age for the plot to move. Additionally, I don't find the titular character to be likeable. It is a well-made film and I can see why people praise it but it just ain't for me and might not be for you either.

This film has some entertaining moments, but it can hardly be considered a work of art. It drags on with prolonged arguments and shouting matches that lack artistic finesse, making them feel tiresome and meaningless. The excessive repetition of dialogue, recycled situations, constant yelling, and unnecessary stretching of scenes without adding anything new weaken the film. It could have been a sharp and engaging one-hour movie instead.

Almost all the movie is pure enjoyable entertainment, a farce bordering superficial humour and just one decent almost authentic, powerful scene. It seems as if Sean Baker wanted to emulate Ken Loach in telling a story of humiliation, but he fails to convey authenticity, and all we have in the end is just superficial mannerism. There were so many worthier movies this year than this one.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]