Anora (2024)

Sean Baker makes you wait for the good part. The opening stretch is a loud, glossy blur of Vanya playing video games and spending his parents’ money like it’s a sport, and it runs long. Then the family’s fixers show up, and it turns into one of the funniest, most chaotic nights you’ll ever watch. Mikey Madison is incredible as Ani, a Brooklyn dancer who marries a Russian oligarch’s son and refuses to be pushed around by anybody. She’s quick, loud, stubborn and, by the end, heartbreaking. Yura Borisov’s Igor is the quiet surprise, a henchman who notices everything nobody else does. Mark Eydelshteyn plays Vanya as an overgrown kid who runs from every problem, and he’s so convincing it’s exhausting. At 139 minutes, the search across Brooklyn drags a little too. It made $57.4 million worldwide on a reported $6M. An 8.8 because it’s a screwball comedy with a bruise underneath. $5,613 says you start rooting for the quiet guy in the back of every movie you watch this month.

What works: Mikey Madison’s fierce, funny Ani, the long chaotic night at the mansion, and Yura Borisov’s quietly perfect Igor.

What doesn’t: The opening stretch drags through repetitive scenes of Vanya’s rich-kid life, and the citywide search runs a bit long.

Who it’s for: Adults who like screwball comedies with real feeling underneath and don’t mind some subtitles.