ANORA

Sean Baker’s latest casts Mikey Madison as a sex worker named Anora, or Ani as she prefers to be called. She may live in a shabby Brooklyn apartment above the rattle of the subway, but every night, Ani glams up and puts on a flirty smile for the men at a local club.

Between myriad lap dances, Ani finds herself talking to Vanya, a young Russian boy who joyfully throws around his parents’ money. His innocence charms Ani, and the two fall into a comfortable rhythm. She shows him a good time, and he opens the door to a charmed life she could only have imagined. They begin a whirlwind romance that’s soon threatened by Vanya's powerful family. Ani finds herself gripping onto a fantasy by her long pink fingernails.

From quick-cut montages to anxious extended sequences, Anora showcases a filmmaker in brilliant command of his craft, expertly upholding a tragicomical tone for a story that keeps us on the edge of our seat.