“Anora” Is Not Another Cinderella Story

Image Description: Drawing of the main character, Anora, looking out into the distance with a coat and red scarf wrapped around her. On a blue background with a red hue outlining her.

Sean Baker’s newest Palme d’Or winning film, “Anora,” was enthralling, relatable, and humorous, but was not a Cinderella story. Baker is widely known for his film “The Florida Project,” portraying a woman in a pink-washed Orlando hotel who provides for her daughter with sex work. His films “Starlet” and “Tangerine” share similar themes, starring and humanizing sex workers. It’s no wonder that in his speech at the Cannes Film Festival, he dedicated his prize to, “all sex workers, past, present, and future.” However, “Anora” is definitely my favorite film by the director. Baker is known for his dedication and efforts to portray the working class, and underrepresented groups authentically, and “Anora” does just that. 

Anora, a 23-year-old Brooklyn native played by Mikey Madison, meets Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn) while dancing at HQ, a Manhattan strip club. Baker made many efforts to remain authentic and respectful in  portrayal of this community including having Madison train with consultants and dancers and spend time in clubs with sex workers. Her research shows through greatly in her performance. Whether in quiet conversations about creepy customers outside the club or in boisterous dressing room scenes, Madison truly embodied Anora. 

Eventually, the heavily accented and dorkily charismatic Vanya singles out Anora for her ability to speak Russian. Anora chooses to go by the name Ani and informs Vanya that she does not like to speak Russian and distracts him from conversation through sex. Although it seems Vanya wants to break down this wall and speak freely with Ani, he very quickly gives in when she takes off her clothing. As the relationship progresses it becomes characterized by cycles of sex, payment, and playfulness. Before learning that Vanya’s father is a wealthy oligarch, Vanya jokes that he comes from a family of drug dealers, then gun dealers, and the audience can feel Ani’s barriers of professionalism break down. She slips into the comfortable, easy, humorous version of herself that we see in the strip club dressing room. So when Vanya asks her to be his girlfriend for a week —with compensation of course— we want her to go for it. But when Vanya asks her to marry him, Ani hesitates. “Vanya, are you serious?” she asks. Although Vanya has never established himself to take anything seriously, Ani and the audience hope that this is different. That hope leads her to a Vegas altar, and in their short time as a happy married couple, Ani relaxes into her new life. She becomes increasingly affectionate and even begins to speak —in Vanya’s opinion— shitty Russian. However, this life comes crashing down when word of the marriage gets to Russia and Vanya’s parents send his glorified babysitters, Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and Igor (Yura Borisov), to annul the marriage. Rather than standing by Ani and his marriage, when Vanya hears word of his parents’ arrival he disappears, sending his wife on a wild goose chase through New York City. Despite her constant declarations of love for Vanya, Ani is marked as the silly prostitute who takes advantage of him. She becomes another fleeting mistake in Vanya’s destructive decadent life.  

Ani is not a fantasy, she is not Cinderella, and she is not Vivian Ward. She is a woman who thinks she has found comfort, safety, and security. Ani is not dumb or weak; she hopes for a dream that has been sold to women everywhere, that a man can and will swoop in to save you. So, although I may not relate to Ani’s lifestyle or profession, I truly empathize with her desperation to believe in Vanya despite his lack of sobriety or communication. During her annulment, Ani realizes that she, Toros, Garnick, and Igor are all subject to the whims of Vanya and the privilege that allows him to see life as a video game. Although the film is intentionally comedic at points, I became ashamed of laughing at Ani’s pain as we reached the film’s closing. Igor drops off Ani right where she started at her Brooklyn apartment. Igor, who has always been in Ani’s corner, has stolen and returned Ani’s engagement ring to her. Ani, knowing no other method to show her appreciation, decides to have sex with him. In this one fluid shot, we see Ani’s struggle with intimacy, and being seen by Igor as more than a sexual object leads her to break down in tears. For the first time in the film, we see Ani experience emotion that doesn’t drive her to anger or violence. While Ani is strong and resilient, she is also a woman who has gained and lost everything she ever wanted. Both Baker and Madison’s dedication to authenticity radiated throughout this film, allowing Ani’s story to be more sincere than any Cinderella knockoff.