Hell yeah! This was goddamn awesome!! An extremely entertaining and well executed film that straddles being a comedy, drama and ugh… sort of a romance in some ways too lol. Sean Baker pulled out all the stops here to deliver a damn terrific cinematic experience.

First and foremost the film has a damn fine screenplay. It’s filled to the brim with funny, sincere and realistic dialogue that propels the story forward, provides depth for Ivan and Anora’s relationship and is constantly layering in hilarious comedic moments throughout. I guess they just didn’t want to give this both the Palm D’Or and best screenplay at Cannes, but yeah… I thought this writing was definitively better than the Substance.

The characters are excellent here. There was never a moment where I felt the story dragged. Again this is thanks to the hilarious and layered dialogue the characters were always having. A lot of this sensational character work is also thanks to the terrific acting from star Mikey Madison as Annie. She brings a magnetic energy here as our lead who is swept up in this world of Russian oligarchic wealth. Her character has a powerful sense of agency, which goes doubly in the second half of the picture when we have some great twists and turns. Russian actor Mark Eidelstein is quite good here too, providing a lot of the terrific comedy through his delivery and mannerisms. There are some fun twists and turns in the film across many a vibrant set and locales that quickly become familiar.

Anora also features a one-two terrific punch of Baker’s editing and Drew Daniel’s engrossing cinematography. These two elements give the film, especially the first act, take on the quality of an almost fever dream cocaine fuelled blast of energy, as we are whisked through this story at a breakneck entertaining pace. From the glitzy canopies of Vegas to the neon drowned atmosphere of Annie’s Headquarters strip club, Anora never ceases to entertain with its set pieces that prove to be both awe inspiring and beautiful in their grandeur.

Literally I don’t think there was one moment  throughout this where I felt the length. Just a high octane blast of entrainment from start to close with a unique story fueled by Mikey Madison’s winning performance, hyper editing and serene  moments from Daniel’s visuals. It could be a recipe for disaster, but Baker makes writing/directing this chaotic drug fueled insanity look easy!! Favourite flick of the year for me so far. 5/5

2024 Films, Ranked and Reviewed