What’s refreshing about Sean Baker’s movies isn’t so much their realistic take on the lives of sex workers and others who survive outside of what could be called polite society, but rather how those characters’ status informs their outlook in ways you wouldn’t expect. The contradictions are always compelling, whether it’s Red Rocket‘s former porn star protagonist’s reductive and self-serving sexism or The Florida Project‘s apartment building manager who looks out more for his tenants than he does for the interests of his boss. The titular character of Anora is a 23-year-old New York stripper (Mikey Madison) whose spiky self-confidence is exemplified by her relatively gung-ho approach to sleeping with customers for cash. She isn’t naive, as evidenced by how cavalierly she gets away with defying her employer, but she isn’t jaded either, and when she’s swept off her feet by Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the even younger son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, she can tell where this sort of fling might end up. She wants to improve her life, and marrying this heavily accented puppy would do the trick. Besides, she likes the guy, though God knows why.

As it happens, Ani, as she’s known to her friends, speaks Russian, so she already has a pretty good cultural inkling of what Ivan’s father will think when he finds out his son has eloped with a person he is likely to assume is a gold digger. By that time, Ani is already installed in Ivan’s palatial Brooklyn digs, living the life of Riley. It makes perfect sense that the wedding, in fact, takes place in Vegas during a whirlwind weekend courtesy of dad’s private jet. At one point the audience is clued in that maybe Ivan is simply after a green card, but he’s such an effusive child that you can’t believe he’s capable of such subtle subterfuge and, besides, if the marriage is transactional at all, Ani’s the one who’s got the better end of the deal. On the other hand, Ivan is pretty immature, and his resolve seems less than solid, so when dad sends a team to annul the match it’s Ani who has to stand up for her and Ivan’s connubial rights. In fact, she has to do it alone, because Ivan chickens out and disappears, leaving Ani in the clutches of Dad’s fixer (Karren Karagulian) and two ineffectual goons, Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan). 

Though all of Baker’s movies could be called comedies, Anora is the only one that evinces actual belly laughs, as the Russian contingent confronts wild cat Ani and finds that cancelling the marriage isn’t going to be that easy. While Igor and Garnick search for Ivan with the resistant Ani in tow, the three form a kind of triumvirate of outsider sensibility, with Igor falling hard for his feisty charge while she makes his life hell in return. This is classic screwball romantic comedy fare with a vibe that’s up-to-the-minute, and if it doesn’t quite hit as powerfully as The Florida Project or Tangerine, it’s fully entertaining without being pandering. Baker seems to be going a bit lite here, but Anora nevertheless adheres to his usual ethical priorities. 

In English and Russian. Now playing in Tokyo at Shinjuku Piccadilly (050-6861-3011), Toho Cinemas Chanter Hibiya (050-6868-5001), Shibuya Cine Quinto (03-3477-5905), Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills (050-6868-5024).

Anora home page in Japanese

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