Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Anora
It’s “Sex Worker in the City” meets “Crazy Rich Russians” when Ani begins her Cinderella fairytale. Anora “Ani” (Mikey Madison) is a stripper/sex worker from Brooklyn who finds herself in a whirlwind romance with Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a wealthy Russian Oligarch. Ivan’s parents sent him to America for schooling but he mostly spends his time playing video games & partying. On a trip to Las Vegas, Ivan proposes to Ani & they get married. When rumors of this marriage gets back to his parents, the fairytale takes a dark turn as they seek to have the marriage annulled. Does this fairytale have a happy ending? Is Ani just a gold digger? Is Ivan just a man-child & mama’s boy? Madison is absolutely outstanding as the foul-mouth spitfire fighting for her man. The supporting cast brings their A game too. This may be a lower budget film but script, the actors, their characters, & attention to details elevates this dark rom-com.
Alien gives it 3½ “Headquarters” stars out of 4.
