‘Anora’ Got Her Fairy Tale Ending at the Oscars

Anora is, at its core, about the American Dream. It’s about the fantasy aspect of it, as well as the cold and stark realities of it. Hell, it’s even about the impossibility of it, given the modern world and circumstances that many a citizen live in. That Sean Baker does it in such a fun way is part of why it resonated so much with the Academy, as well as audiences and voters for the better part of a year. Even so, there’s no way around the devastating climax of Baker’s film, which ends on a note suggesting where all too many of us stand in the grand scheme of things. For anyone not in the exclusive class, there’s no fairy tale ending. Last night, however, during the 97th Academy Awards, Anora got to live out the American Dream and got her fairy tale ending.

The road to Oscar glory began at the Cannes Film Festival, where the movie won the Palme d’Or, setting high expectations, but also suggesting that the flick could potentially be more than just another well regarded Baker joint. Anora continued to wow on the festival circuit, blowing away audiences at the Telluride Film Festival (where I saw it), Toronto International Film Festival (where it was the runner up for the People’s Choice Award, due in part to having not debuted there), and the New York Film Festival. Throughout the second half of 2024, these fests built up more and more buzz, which would serve Anora very well when the calendar turned to 2025.

As a reminder, this here is some of what I said in my Telluride rave, where Anora immediately became my favorite film of the year:

Sean Baker has made a career out of de-stigmatizing sex work. He’s clearly fascinated by characters who exist, to one degree or another, on the margins of society, seen as “other” in some way. Not only does it set him apart as a storyteller, it leads to some incredibly unique works. Starlet, Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket have all established him as a poet laureate for these people. Now, with Anora, Baker has upped his game even more. In crafting his first romance, as well as leaning a bit more into plot, he’s made his fullest cinematic meal yet. This is not just the best thing I’ve seen so far at the Telluride Film Festival, it’s the best movie of the year so far.

Anora is a wild ride. It begins as Baker’s take on Pretty Woman, before evolving into something more akin to a night out thriller. After Hours has been evoked by some, as well as Cinderella by Baker himself, but none of this prepares you for the third act. If act one is comedy and romance, act two retains some of the laughs while also bringing in danger, act three takes it all home with a real sense of tragedy as well. This is an auteur fully in control of his craft.

Mikey Madison gives the performance of the year here, full of vim and vigor. You immediately fall in love with Ani and want her to be happy. You worry for her safety when things get intense, cheer when she has the upper hand, and are heartbroken when you realize how the odds are stacked against her. Madison plays all this perfectly, leaning in to not just her sexuality, but also her toughness. So much is unsaid, but you have no trouble understanding Ani’s life, which is a credit to Baker and Madison. I haven’t seen a performance like this so far in 2024. If she’s not nominated for an Academy Award in Best Actress, something is wrong. Mark Eydelshteyn plays a very charming man-child, right up until it counts, when he comes up tragically small. Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmaysan are amusing and compelling in equal measure, but it’s Yura Borisov who is the star of the supporting players, upending expectations about his supposed thug. Igor’s menacing look shields an actual concern for Ani that pays major dividends. The rest of the cast includes Darya Ekamasova, Luna Sofía Miranda, Brittney Rodriguez, and Aleksey Serebryakov, but this is Madison as the absolute MVP.

Writer/director Sean Baker manages to make the closest thing he’s ever done to a mainstream movie here. Baker sincerely deserves his first Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nominations for Anora, as this work is just too good for Oscar to ignore. Cinematographer Drew Daniels makes Brighton Beach come alive, and this is coming from someone who literally lives where the film is set and has been inside nearly every location. Baker makes the setting a true character, distinctive from anywhere else he’s ever put a movie. He never shies away from the transactional nature of the relationship, but in true Baker fashion, he never judges or stigmatizes it, nor does he do that with any character. That’s why you’re so invested early on, as well as why the ending lands as strongly as it does.

When the precursors began, Anora had a great run through the critics portion of Phase One, ultimately scoring more citations than any other film. Still, few besides yours truly was predicting it to win Best Picture, or Sean Baker to win Best Director. Some where on the Mikey Madison train in Best Actress, while Baker became an early frontrunner in Best Original Screenplay. NEON allowed things to go deliberately, holding their cards tight while never ignoring their pony. It paid off when, in a span of 24 hours, the movie won the top prize at the Critics Choice Awards to cap off the critics portion of the precursor season, but then back to back guild wins with the Directors Guild for Baker and the Producers Guild for the flick. Suddenly, Anora was the frontrunner for Picture and Director, not just Original Screenplay.

BAFTA gave Madison a surprise win, one that would ultimately catapult her to an Oscar, though that ceremony, along with the Screen Actors Guild, failed to give the film overall the knockout blow. So, last night was a situation where the movie was the odds on favorite, but there was room for an upset. Maybe it would split some of its wins? That sure didn’t happen, as aside from Yura Borisov in Best Supporting Actor, where that Kieran Culkin win was very much set in stone, Anora swept, even giving Baker a win in Best Film Editing. In doing so, he made history as the first person to win four Academy Awards for the same project.

It all culminated in a dominant showing last night, which ended up being a celebration of an independent filmmaker, as well as indie film in general, given Anora‘s pedigree. On a personal note, this all kind of blew my mind and stunned me. My favorite movie of a given year just never dominates like this. The only two other times since I’ve done this for a living that my #1 has also taken the top prize at the Oscars, it was Argo, which notably had the Ben Affleck snub in Director, and Spotlight, which pulled an upset. To see Anora be in the pole position and then to be embraced even more than expected? That’s amazing.

Anora is, for my money, one of the great Best Picture winners, a modern classic, as well as another wonderful example of the Academy finally embracing the future. They’ve gotten with the times, and in doing so, have honored an incredible film, as well as one of the most underrated filmmakers of the past decade or so. Kudos to Baker, Madison, NEON, and company, as well as to the voters in the Academy. Oscar did right last night…

Congrats to Anora on its fairy tale Oscar ending!