Things are going a little too well in “Anora” until a call from Russia and a knock at the door changes the trajectory of the movie. This extended sequence, deeply stressful and riotously funny at the same time, is reason enough to see Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner . But somehow the journey that follows only gets better and more interesting.
“Anora” is a fairy tale that spoils. An exotic dancer from Brighton Beach, Anora (Mikey Madison), or Ani, as she likes to be called, gets paired one evening with a young man, Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), who requests a Russian speaker. She can speak a little and understand everything and they quickly hit it off, embarking on a whirlwind ride together.
First, Ivan hires her by the hour, then for the week for which she commands a cool $15,000 (accounting for inflation that’s about double what Vivian got in “Pretty Woman.” Edward may have been a successful corporate raider, but he didn’t have oligarch money.) Ivan even tells Ani he would have paid $30,000.
For as crass and ugly and reckless as it all is, it’s also something of a joy bomb to watch Ani and Ivan indulge in the youthful hedonism of unlimited funds — there’s drugs, champagne, private jets, luxury suites and, perhaps most importantly, they’re having fun. When he proposes and they marry on an impromptu trip to Las Vegas, you almost believe it could work. Then the foundation collapses: Ivan’s parents find out and the guys who were supposed to be keeping tra.
