Sean Baker's NYC-set fable Anora has wowed critics, confirming an almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.
The filmmaker's latest tale of characters on the margins follows titular heroine Anora AKA Ani (Scream's Mikey Madison), a sharp-tongued stripper who embarks on an unlikely, whirlwind romance with Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the bratty son of a Russian oligarch.
The 139-minute runtime feels breezy as the joyous movie descends into pure, messy madness, packing an emotional punch in a cathartic, if polarising, finale.
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Months after its Palme d'Or win at Cannes, Anora is Certified Fresh thanks to a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics blown away by Madison's performance and Baker's direction.
Released in the US on October 18, Anora is ready to hit UK cinemas on November 1. Ahead of its release this side of the pond, let's have a look at what has been said about one of the most anticipated movies of the year.
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Slate
"It's a crowd-pleaser, funny and sexy and raucous, while also being startlingly wise and tender."
Autostraddle
"Anora's practically seamless tonal shifts and sharp performances make for a strong, defined comedy with dramatic weight. Although the film carries its head high for nearly the entire runtime, it might just undersell itself in the last moments."
Rolling Stone
"[Mikey Madison] exits stage left as an above-the-title star. Then, just when you've think you've seen the full multitudes of this working-class martyr, the actor downshifts and manages to crack you in two."
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Associated Press
"Anora both embraces and transcends the cliches. It's not trying to pretend that it's not exploitative on some level; that might even be the point. And anyway, you might be surprised just how quickly you commit to this once-in-a-lifetime ride."
The New York Times
"Sometimes a movie actually earns the old cliché of a 'star-making turn', and I'm here to say that Sean Baker's Anora is this year's star maker."
Los Angeles Times
"Baker wrote the part for her, and Madison returned the favor with a star-making performance, leaning into Ani's audacity while revealing the fragile façade, the vulnerabilities and self-deception lurking underneath."
Time Out
"It shouldn't all be so funny, but it is, and it's to Baker's huge credit that he's able to inspire laughs and huge enjoyment from this madcap story without leaving you feeling that the woman at the heart of this mess has been short-changed."
Mashable
"Altogether, Anora is a visceral experience, making its audience not voyeurs but one of the crew. Thus embedded, our pulses race, our eyes grow wide, our hearts dance as our heroes do. Anora offers a glorious thrill, as bold as it is brilliant."
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RogerEbert.com
"Anora is boundlessly alive with a quality we've seen continually in the movies of Sean Baker, among the most humanist filmmakers working today. There is joy next to sadness. There is comedy inside a tragedy."
BBC.com
"Anora fizzes with energy and laugh-out-loud moments, but it isn't recommended for anyone with high blood pressure."
Little White Lies
"While the film remains entertaining thanks to the calibre of the performances, there are few surprises in store and not many places for Ani's character to go."
The Daily Beast
"The film is very funny, until it punches you in the gut with a beautiful ending, and it entirely rests on Madison's performance as the tough-as-nails Anora."
Anora is out in US cinemas now. In the UK, the film is released on November 1.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
