REVIEW: Anora
Mikey Madison shines in wholly unique take on a (usually) exploited genre.
The first thing I pondered before writing this review was what other stripper movies I had seen. The second thought was wondering if stripper is still something you say. Or sex worker. I did a quick search on movies and saw both. I’m sticking with stripper.
So, on the prior stripper movies I’ve seen you have two bad and one good.
On the bad side there is of course Showgirls the absolute camp classic that I really need to watch again. It’s so damn terrible and and both peak Paul Verhoeven and 90s — even if it came out in 1995.
The other is Striptease with Demi Moore. I don’t need to see that again. I think it made some attempt to be serious — but everyone in the world at the time knew that it was 95% about seeing Demi Moore naked. Something, something, she whips off a bejeweled bra, the end.
On the good side was Hustlers from 2019. Yes, Jo-Lo and crew were hot, but the film had a great look and an interesting heist hook. And it captured both the thrill and sadness that I imagine is prevalent in that world.
All three movies kind of mirror my limited real-life experience with strippers and strip clubs: Mildly titillating (sorry) tinged with sadness, and then quickly forgotten.
Anora is in a different category all together.
It’s just audacious in how much it packs in — both in genre-bending and tone and emotion. It’s a dark comedy, but one that you’re not quite sure you should laugh because something could go seriously wrong at any minute. It’s a Cinderella story with a naïve and forlorn underbelly.
Sean Baker wrote (and directs) a movie that is just always tipping on a tightrope with all these balls in the air. And he just nails it. You want to watch this movie while you’re watching it. You want to see what’s coming next, even if you think you know. And not in a plot twist kind of way — just enjoying the surprise of the next scene and how it’s all held together.
And make no mistake, this movie could only succeed with a lead actress who could keep all those emotional balls in the air, because Anora is about Anora. And damn does Mikey Madison kill it. I guarantee you that I’ve never written the term tour de force, but here we are.
Where writing and acting intersect here I don’t know. But, as someone who has tried his hand at trying to do good character arcs in screenplays I don’t think I could write the complexity of this performance. Yes, there’s a traditional character arc of sorts, but the beauty of the writing/performance is how it throws that convention away.
Madison as Anora is an amalgamation of her life — not a simple hero’s journey to be tracked. She’s everything, everywhere, all at once. Tough. Smart. Tender. Violent. Naïve. Funny. Stupid. It all works together and it always feels completely real. It’s one of the best performances I’ve seen in years.
I’ve never liked movie reviews that spend most of their words rewriting the plot. Trailers already give away too much. But, beyond the fact that Anora is a stripper — I’ve revealed no plot here.
Because this wasn’t a big movie at all. And if you know nothing about it, keep it that way, and just go enjoy the ride.