The reviews are unusually of one mind. All eighteen are positive, and the lowest sits only a little below the rest, so the spread is narrow. The praise clusters on Mikey Madison, whom most critics describe as a star-making lead: brash, fiery and vulnerable underneath, and the reason the film stays sympathetic through its noisier stretches. Sean Baker’s direction draws the next warmest notices, particularly his blend of screwball comedy with a humane character study, and the long home-invasion sequence is picked out more than once as the set piece. Several critics point to the final scene as the moment the farce gives way to something sobering. Reservations are few and mild: The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap both think it runs long, and Little White Lies feels it loses its way slightly in the second half. Deadline is the coolest of the group, though still clearly approving.
T
The Times
30 October 2024 · ★★★★★ · Ed Potton
100
A vibrant and hilarious tale of subcultural hustling and a deserved Palme d’Or winner. Mikey Madison delivers a chutzpah-filled, Oscar-worthy performance with well-disguised vulnerability, capped by a sobering final scene.
Sean Baker’s darkly funny sex-work screwball is a blast, full of wild energy and compassion, with a brilliant central performance that keeps viewers on Team Ani.
Baker’s screwball Cinderella tale is frenetic, funny, fiery and profane, vaulting him towards greatness with deft handling and ambition. Mikey Madison gives a performance for the ages as the flawed, fearsome heroine.
The critic hails it as gorgeous, deranged and one of the films of the year, singling out Mikey Madison's sparky, vulnerable and real breakout performance as the perfect fit for Baker's unpredictable rags-to-riches tale.
The critic praises the film as an intoxicating frenzied fairy tale and tender character study, highlighting Baker's humanistic filmmaking and Mikey Madison's blazing, assured lead performance as its biggest triumph.
The critic deems it a flawless anti-Cinderella story, praising Mikey Madison's overwhelmingly good, star-making performance that balances humour and thoughtfulness while delivering a moving, laugh-a-minute experience with a poignant sting.
Sean Baker’s lively comedy about a stripper’s fairy-tale romance crashing down delivers madcap energy and control, standing as his best film, with a star-making turn from Mikey Madison that earns strong rooting interest.
Energy fizzes through this anti-Cinderella story with barely controlled chaos and vérité. Mikey Madison gives a bristlingly real, star-making performance as a force-of-nature dancer.
Baker’s anti-rom-com offers a hypermodern critique of class and geopolitics through a sex worker’s whirlwind romance with a Russian nepo baby, with strong performances and energetic direction, though it loses its way slightly in the latter half.
The critic calls it another hugely enjoyable ride from Sean Baker, commending the no-holds-barred comedy-drama, electric lead performance by Mikey Madison, and its robust look at class divides with real pathos in the final third.
Baker’s free-wheeling sex farce about a stripper and oligarch’s son is compulsively entertaining and emotionally rich, reaffirming his talent-spotting with a standout performance from Mikey Madison.
Baker's Palme d'Or winner is a sharp, humanist look at transactional relationships and the American Dream's illusions, using genre tropes to deliver deeper emotional truths. The critic singles out the final scene's raw emotional breakdown for puncturing the film's cartoonish energy and rom-com expectations.
Sean Baker delivers a wildly entertaining modern-day screwball comedy with a feisty central performance by Mikey Madison as a sex worker in a whirlwind romance disrupted by family interference, full of unruly humour and propulsive pacing.
The critic praises Sean Baker’s demolition of the Pretty Woman fantasy through a vivid screwball-tragicomedy centered on a fiery sex worker, highlighting the emotional force of the film’s ending and Baker’s humane approach.
The critic calls it a satisfying screwball comedy about a sex worker's whirlwind romance with an oligarch's son that turns chaotic. Madison's scrappy, sweet-yet-defensive lead performance stands out alongside Baker's vivid milieu and class commentary, though the film could lose some length.
17 October 2024 · Critic’s Pick · Alissa Wilkinson
The critic praises Mikey Madison's mesmerizing, career-making performance and notes that the film levels up Sean Baker's work with its confident storytelling.
Mikey Madison delivers a star-making turn in Baker's madcap screwball comedy about a Brooklyn escort and a Russian oligarch's son. The critic highlights Madison's brash charisma and the film's blend of warmth and bleakness as it turns chaotic chases into something humane and entertaining.
Anora is probably the best movie of 2024, an instantly towering work that is empathetic, moving, and often just a good time at the movies. The critic singles out the effortless blend of big emotions, thoughtful complexity, and high-stress screwball comedy.
The critic praises Mikey Madison's fiery, committed performance as Ani and Sean Baker's skillful blend of screwball comedy with intimate character study. It highlights the film's nonjudgmental humor, focus on the protagonist's dreams and agency, and tonal balance between farce and melancholy.
Anora is one of 2024’s best, most entertaining and heartfelt films, blending comedy with a devastating final act. The critic singles out Mikey Madison’s radiant, compelling performance for keeping the film grounded.
Baker delivers another razor-sharp, empathetic portrait of marginal lives through a screwball romance that subverts Pretty Woman tropes with class solidarity and unpredictability. The critic praises the strong ensemble and Madison's standout performance amid the manic, heartfelt odyssey.
The critic finds the film a wildly entertaining and confounding mix of character study, look at the super-rich, and raucous comedy, praising its fun and heart despite its length and genre swings. They single out the hysterical home invasion set piece and the moving coda for praise.
The critic praises the film's broad screwball comedy elements and Mikey Madison's fearless performance as Ani, noting the heartbreaking ending that reveals emotional costs. They highlight the pursuit sequence and the lead actress as standout.
Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate
