Pretty Woman on meth

Anora is a stripper in a Brooklyn bar. One night, one of her customers is Ivan, the son of Russian oligarchs. Ivan takes a shine to Anora, offering her a mountain of cash to become his "sex friend" for a week. The young girl discovers a world of insane luxury and non-stop partying, and the couple head off to Las Vegas to prolong the fiesta, where Ivan decides on a whim to marry Anora. When her parents, who had stayed behind in Russia, heard the news, they were furious and asked their man of trust, Toros, who had moved to New York, to "restore order to the chaos" and break up the marriage... How would Anora and Ivan manage?

In "Anora", the director focuses on a different kind of ‘sex worker’, this Anora who suddenly finds herself embracing a Cinderella destiny. The irresistible charm of Sean Baker's cinema lies not so much in the originality of his plots as in the affectionate, non-judgemental way in which he looks at his characters. In ‘Anora’, all the protagonists are endearing. First of all, of course, there is the young girl, who is inevitably a little venal because she has no desire to remain a stripper for the rest of her life. Then there's Ivan, a young daddy's boy who's as sympathetic as he is immature and irresponsible, and who spends his parents' inheritance from the other side of the Atlantic on his own in his big villa. Then there's Toros, the henchman, totally overwhelmed by events, and flanked by a Russian accomplice, Igor, who is much less of a brute than he seems... All these characters are played by actors who are little known in our country, but all of them are absolutely terrific, starting with Mikey Madison, who is unforgettable in the role of Anora, a role that will very probably earn her a few handsome awards.

Film review by Hugues Dayez.