Sean Baker’s “Anora” Hinges On One Pivotal Action Sequence
Everybody loves a good Cinderella/ Cinderfella story – the romantic storybook tale of a hard luck princess being swept away by her elegant Prince Charming and they subsequently gallop away into the sunset to live happily ever after.
Sean Baker’s Anora doesn’t buy into that princess fairytale fantasy. In his film, Anora “Ani” Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) is a young Russian-American sex worker from Brooklyn and her prince is a Russian oligarch’s fast and loose twenty-one year old son Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn). Baker is known for indie favorites The Florida Project, Red Rocket, and Tangerine.
Anora constructs its narrative starting with distinctly contrasting places – from sumptuous gentleman’s club, to glitzy Vegas, and even winding through the streets of Brighton Beach and Manhattan. It saunters at a brisk pace often playing as a comedic caper.
Sean Baker’s desire to tell his story stems from his long-time working relationship with actor Karren Karagulian who plays Toros, who does the Russian oligarch’s bidding an put a stop to Vanya and Ani’s whirlwind romance. Baker also wants to illustrate the colorful and vibrant Russian community in New York’s Brighton Beach/ Coney Island area.
The screenplay took shape as the actors came on board and immersed themselves into their characters and the habitat of Russian-American culture.
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