Anora
Overview
A stripper from Brighton Beach marries a Russian oligarch's son on a Vegas whim, and for one shining moment the fairy tale is real. Anora - Ani to everyone - works the clubs, feisty, funny and completely unsentimental about her job. Then Ivan walks in: young, wealthy, charming, and spoiled rotten. Their whirlwind romance ends in a Las Vegas wedding, and Ani finds herself suddenly installed in his Brooklyn mansion life. Ivan's parents, back in Russia, have a different reaction. They are furious, and they dispatch a crew of thugs to annihilate the marriage - to make it un-happen, by whatever pressure it takes. What follows is chaos: screaming matches, a home invasion that turns into a standoff, and Ani fighting back with everything she has, because she refuses - absolutely refuses - to be treated as a disposable girl in someone else's family drama. Mikey Madison is a revelation in the title role, fierce and resourceful one minute, heartbreakingly vulnerable the next. The film is a comedy until it isn't: underneath the noise it's a story about class, power and an American Dream that was never really on offer. The final scene, quiet and devastating, will stay with you.
