A rags to riches tale for 2025, the film begins with Anora, or Ani as she prefers to be called, working as a stripper at a Midtown Manhattan club when a new client (the boisterous, boyish Vanya played by Mark Eydelshteyn) asks for a Russian-speaking dancer.
Bookies are hardly a trustful barometer when it comes to the Oscars, but this year I’m hoping they’ve at least got Best Picture right – because as it turns out, in a rare meeting of minds, we’re both pulling for Sean Baker’s Anora this weekend.
Each of its wins on the awards circuit so far (DGA, PGA, Bafta to name a few) have secured its chances just that bit more; as it stands, Anora leads the pack in overall Best-Picture trophy count over fellow nominees including Conclave and The Brutalist.
Madison learnt a new language (passable Russian); nailed a tricky accent (earning the stamp of approval from notoriously hard-to-please Brooklynites); and endured a physically demanding transformation (she worked intensively with a dance instructor to perfect her stripper scenes).
That he is receiving his first-ever nods for Anora is strange given the greatness of The Florida Project, his tender tale of motel-dwelling children, and Tangerine, his even better iPhone-shot comedy about transgender sex workers.
-has-died-at-the-age-of-78.jpeg?auto=webp&width=800)
.jpeg?trim=24,0,217,0&quality=100&auto=webp&width=1920)
