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With spooky season behind us, The Cinematic Schematic is full steam ahead into the prestige-y awards bait time of year. We begin by reviewing this year’s Palme d’Or winner, Anora, from director Sean Baker.
Anora follows the titular Brooklyn stripper(Mikey Madison) as she’s swept off her feet by the son of a Russian Oligarch, Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn). It starts as a whimsical Cinderella story, but how long can the magic last? Writer/director Sean Baker explores another tragic tale about the American dream through an intimate and comedic character’s journey.
Meet Today’s Roundtable
Hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman speak with two of Oklahoma City’s finest critics to assess the critically acclaimed indie director’s latest outing. No Film School contributor Jo Light, The Cinematropolis, and Flick Attack contributor Daniel Bokemper joined the table to provide their verdicts. Bokemper prepared by recently wrapping up his own Sean Baker retrospective.
Does Anora live up to the massive critical acclaim? Tune in for our reviews.
Left to right: Daniel Bokemper, Laron Chapman, Jo Light, and Caleb Masters.
Ice-Breaker Question
Time Stamp: 2:40
What is your favorite fictional(reality-based or completely fiction) big-screen mafia group?
Anora features a group of Armenian mafia-type characters, led by a man named Toros (Karren Karagulian). Whether it’s Mission: Impossible‘s “The Syndicate” or The Godfather’s The Corleone family, cinema is the home of many iconic fictional organized crime families.
To crack open this week’s coversation, each critic picks their favorite fictional organized crime group.
Spoiler-Free Review
Time Stamp: 10:00
In our Anora review, we cover:
- Our overall thoughts on the movie
- How it compares to the rest of Sean Baker’s filmography
- Letter Grade ratings
- Alternate media recommendations
Spoiler-Filled Analysis
Time Stamp: 44:18
As with all Sean Baker films, Anora is a layered story that touches on a number of relevant themes.
In this spoilers discussion, we tackle a couple of topics including:
- How Anora subverts the Cinderella love story tropes
- Sean Baker’s continued exploration of the American dream by marginalized characters from different walks of life.
Special Guests
Jo Light
Writer at No Film School. The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle
Follow Jo on Letterboxd @JoJoBinks1
Daniel Bokemper
Contributor at The Cinematropolis and Flick Attack
Read Daniel’s Sean Baker Retrospective
About Anora
According to IMDB, Anora is described as:
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.
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