47/15

In the Vegas scene, a character refers to “McCarran Airport”

Scenario

Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. When the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened when her parents travel to New York to have the marriage annulled. Sean Baker wanted to cast Yura Borisov after seeing him in Kupe br. 6 (2021)..

Referenced in the close-up: Anora (2024)

Although Las Vegas International Airport was known as McCarran International Airport for decades, its name was changed to Harry Reid International Airport in late 2021. Igor: PLEASE! STOP! SHOUT!.

Daddy AF Written and performed by Catherine Slater (aka Slayyter)

Anora is Sean Baker’s early magnum opus, continuing to stigmatize sex workers and offering thoughtful class commentary as the extravagantly wealthy mess up the lives of others for a long time without thinking about the consequences for them. It’s great when it works like Pretty Woman and only gets better as it shifts gears into Uncut Gems territory with a very tense second half that’s also really funny throughout. Mikey Madison is everything in a film that’s built around his star performance, confirming that he only deserves more leading roles. He’s so confident and refuses to back down, even though he’s endlessly likable.

There’s a strong supporting cast of characters too

It makes everything incredibly invested because you just want him to get the fairy tale ending he was promised, making you hold on to even the smallest shreds of hope even as reality sets in at every turn. Mark Eydelshteyn makes Ivan seem like a nice guy despite his obvious flaws, before he’s sadly revealed to be a spineless spoiled brat. Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan, and Karren Karagulian are a delightful trio who spend most of their screen time doing a terrible job that quickly turns into a showy comedy of errors, leaving you feeling really bad for them. Sean Baker’s direction is amazing with an airtight tone that allows for a big change of pace beautifully and a spectacular opening Take.

It sets the scene beautifully

His editing is a standout, as this is 139 minutes long without feeling too long. The home invasion sequence goes on for a while, and that’s only a good thing, because it keeps getting faster, and it definitely helps that the middle piece is Ivan’s search through the city in a flash. From Alien: Romulus to Road House, check out some of our favorite posters for 2024.