Sean Baker’s latest film, Anora, stars Mikey Madison as a sex worker in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, named Ani. She lives in a small apartment above the clattering subway tracks, but every night, she glams up and puts on a flirty smile for the men at a local club.
Ivan, or “Vanya,” is the 21-year-old son of a Moscow billionaire, staying in his father’s mansion on the far side of Brooklyn whenever he’s in New York. Ani is the daughter of a mother living in Miami and a father who’s never been in the picture, while Vanya is a hyper-juvenile nepo baby who may never mature.
Besides being hilarious, the film is one of the many projects where Baker has explored sex work, aiming to lift the historical taboo surrounding it. At least, that’s how he explained it in a Q&A following a screening at Lincoln Center I attended this fall.
Sex workers are often seen as desperate and lost—women who, out of all professions, chose this path because they “don’t respect their bodies.” But there's a counter-narrative, too. Sex workers can be seen as smart and tough, choosing to engage in sexual commerce when few other choices are available (or simply because they want to).
For generations, certain factions of feminist movements have isolated sex workers from the broader working class, portraying them as uniquely exploited and in need of saving. Anora disrupts this divide, reuniting sex workers with the rest of the working class—a perspective that makes the film stand out. Ani appears to have more power than the other house workers, who are tasked with cleaning up after Vanya’s constant reckless behavior; however, she is no less vulnerable to the exploitation and demands of servicing the oligarch family. Neither Ani nor Igor, nor Toros, nor Garnick—the family’s hired strongmen—is exempt from the power dynamics at play.
Vanya’s parents cannot accept that their son married a sex worker. Anora contrasts the superficiality of the wealthy with the integrity and determination of the working class. It is showcased in Vanya’s parents who show up only when the extraordinary happens and their daily presence is replaced with different types of hired staff.
Madison makes a great Ani. She perfectly portrays the smart and opportunistic character, who also has a hopeful and romantic side. Ani makes choices that lead to both success and failure, highlighting her complexity. Anora presents sex work as a way for Ani to escape poverty, while for Vanya, it is a means to break free from oppressive wealth and societal expectations.
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