Anora (2024)

‘Anora’ is manic, gritty, sexy, and emotionally resonant all at once. Mikey Madison gives a star-making performance as a sex worker in ‘Anora,’ a romantic comedy-drama that’s as soulful as it is relentlessly chaotic.

‘Anora’ is perhaps the biggest movie yet from independent filmmaker Sean Baker, whose past works include ‘Tangerine,’ ‘The Florida Project,’ ‘Starlet,’ and ‘Red Rocket.’ Directing, writing, and editing his films himself, and using innovative techniques like shooting an entire movie on an iPhone (as he did with ‘Tangerine’), Baker brings an authenticity to his movies that reflects his ion for focusing on people living and working on the fringes of society – which in several of his films includes sex workers.