“Anora” Completes Its Cinderella Story With Fairy Tale Oscars Night
The 97th Oscars ended up being a true fairy tale story for writer/director Sean Baker’s Anora, with Baker capping an already magical night after winning Oscars for Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Director—in which he gave a rousing acceptance speech defending the unparalleled experience of the theater experience—by seeing Anora take the top prize, Best Picture. For good measure, Anora‘s Cinderella herself, Mikey Madison,
“Anora” Cinematographer Drew Daniels on an Old School Approach to Modern, Misguided Love
Shot over 37 days in New York, one of this year’s awards darlings is Sean Baker’s compulsively riveting Anora, a lap-dancing underworld version of Cinderella. Mikey Madison plays the titular stripper, Anora/”Ani,” who thinks she has hit the jackpot when playboy and heir to a Russian oligarch, Ivan “Vanya” (Mark Eydelshteyn), falls in love with her. In an instant, she is plunged into a world of immense wealth, but will she be able to hang on to the rags-to-riches fantasy when forces outside of their budding romance are pressed into service to tear them apart?
How “Anora”‘s DP & Production Designer Brought a Deconstructed Cinderella to New York
Halfway through Sean Baker’s Anora, there’s a scene where exotic dancer turned newlywed Ani (Mickey Madison) is tied up and gagged with a red scarf. The dilemma is a response to her breaking the nose and slap-boxing two men questioning her marriage to a silver-spooned Russian rich boy named Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn). The scarf (and its color) can easily be overlooked during the unfolding chaos that plays out as a real-time home invasion lasting for roughly 25 minutes and sees Ivan run away from his bride.
