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‘Anora’ Review: Sean Baker’s Whirlwind Sex-Work Romance Sparkles Like the Tinsel in Its Leading Lady’s Hair
Sean Baker reaffirms his knack for spotting talent — and suspending judgment — in casting Mikey Madison as 'Anora,' who thinks she's found her whale.
Like countless Hollywood fantasies that have come before, it tells the story of how two people from different worlds fall in love, run into immediate obstacles and deal with the consequences — except the couple in this case consists of a New York stripper and the reckless son of a Russian oligarch. Baker has always had an instinct for spotting talent, and here, he doesn’t have to show Madison pole dancing à la Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers” for audiences to buy into the authenticity (it may actually be an advantage that she’s not already a star, or impossibly proportioned). For his part, Eydelshteyn brings a spindly Timothée Chalamet-like quality to the role of Vanya, adapting his body language to the way Ani sees him: Prince Charming at first, but increasingly pathetic once his parents are invoked.
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