Classism and The American Dream in Sean Baker's Anora
- Bade Yılmaz
- Feb 20
- 4 min read
Pause. This review contains spoilers for the movie Anora. Continue at your own risk...
Money, money, money… Money is a big player in literature, often standing in for power, freedom, and the kind of social status that can change everything. It pushes characters to make bold choices, sparks tension, and digs deep into what people really want. Whether it’s the dream of a better life or the trap of too much, money’s role reveals all the messy stuff we’re after and how it messes with our lives. A lot of media revolves around this concept, and Anora is one of them.
Sean Baker’s Anora tells the story of Ani (Mikey Madison), a stripper working in a highly rated strip club, and how her life changes as she meets a Russian client, Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn). After Ani discovers he is the son of a powerful man in Russia with a lot of money, she accepts his offer to be his private girlfriend in return for money. After a while, they get married in Vegas, and they’re living their dream life. This dream life consists of Vanya getting to have fun and sex during his spare time and Ani experiencing her old life as a stripper, which turns into a real-life fairy tale. This fairy-tale-like idea of living the "American dream" is also shown visually in the movie with every scene containing the colors blue, red, and white, representing the American flag. But unlike fairy tales, they don’t get to live happily ever after once Vanya’s family finds out about their marriage.
Similar to Baker’s previous works, Anora highlights society’s margins. This is the story of two people who seem to be looking for the same thing, but they are coming from the two ends of a spectrum. Ani comes off as a strong, hard-boiled girl with a strong grasp of reality, trying to survive in New York. Meanwhile, Vanya represents a golden goose on the run. He is the embodiment of holding power without responsibility. This was made clear since the last quarter of the film was solely Vanya going missing and Ani, along with a bunch of Armenian men who are sick of babysitting a rich boy, looking for him frantically. Of course, this concept is somewhat funny. It can be amusing to watch dogs chase the bone when you’re not the dog, but it’s also rather sad. Besides the hopeless situation Ani and Vanya’s dad’s men are in, it’s also very sad for Vanya. He is incredibly, stupidly immature, and all he knows is how to spend all the money he has without any purpose or hopes or anything. This is where Anora is set apart from any other the-rich-suck-and-are-terrible-people movie. There’s personality, perspective, and emotional depth to it.
Speaking of personality, it would be a crime to write about this movie without talking about Igor. The savior, the counterpoint. Igor’s importance as a character is seen as he seems to be the only one to care for Ani, and, tragically, Ani doesn’t seem to be able to comprehend how someone wouldn’t want sex or something from her. The beauty of Igor’s character is that he sees himself in Ani. They’re both lower-class people who use their bodies for labor.
All that said, I have to mention the ending scene. The ending scene was a release of the cumulative tension for both of the characters, vulnerable and crystal clear. Igor’s gestures carry the affection (not in a romantic way!) he wasn’t allowed to show during this goose chase, and Ani’s understandably complicated behavior, the kiss-and-hits, and the yelling… they’re all reflections of her feelings throughout the movie. This breakdown was bound to happen—it was just a matter of when. She had been pushing everything down, trying not to feel, but sex has a way of bringing buried emotions to the surface. And when it eventually did, everything hit her all at once. Watching her finally break down and cry felt like releasing your breath after you’ve been holding it for so long.
As brilliant as this scene was, it felt short of the character’s aspects. Igor’s position as a savior was a nice idea but seemed superficial and only for fairy tales. After the world shifts into real life with Vanya’s parents finding out, Igor’s character seems unrealistic, but Ani’s response to him is what shifts the scene back into reality.
Despite being a character-driven piece, this movie could’ve done much more for Ani’s character. Of course, every character can always be refined more thoroughly, but Ani’s character development was seriously lacking. Her personality wasn’t there at all outside of a few punchlines and her life next to her husband, who she met a few weeks ago. It usually doesn’t bother me when certain choices about characters don't seem to align with their showcased personality because I believe it shows the character’s complexity, and I wish this was the case with Anora.
All this aside, I liked Anora. It’s smart, gritty, and generally realistic. Underneath all the glitter, Swarovski diamonds, and the g-strings, it captures classism, power dynamics, and the struggles they cause. Watching it left me with a strange mix of admiration and discomfort—the kind that lingers long after the credits roll.
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