When we first saw Anora in November 2024, we knew it was something very special: fresh, subversive, heartbreaking and funny. And now the Academy has recognised it too, awarding it five Oscars at the 2 March ceremony, including best actress for its star Mikey Madison, best director for Sean Baker and best picture.

Stylist’s Shahed Eyazadi explores why it’s such a deserving winner.

There’s something comforting about a fairytale-like romcom: the meet-cutes, the romantic build-up, the predictable happy endings. And Hollywood is very good at producing feel-good and heartwarming romances that stay with you long after the credits roll. However, the thing about a Hollywood romcom is that they’re not that realistic. Reality tends to be suspended so that the two characters can end up happily together by the final scene – no matter their circumstances. So, what happens when a romance is stressful, tense and chaotic? Well, in Sean Baker’s new film, Anora, we find out.

Starring Mikey Madison, Anora is a fresh and brilliant take on the typical Cinderella-style story but for the modern day. It follows the story of a young sex worker from Brooklyn, Anora (or Ani, as she prefers to be called) who meets and impulsively marries Ivan, the son of an oligarch. What appears to be a fairytale-like love story quickly turns sour when the news of their marriage reaches Ivan’s very influential parents in Russia. Ani’s fairytale romance is threatened as Ivan’s parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled and take their son home.

The film is being compared to Pretty Woman, arguably one of the very few films in mainstream pop culture where the main character is a sex worker, but Anora doesn’t make the same mistakes that Pretty Woman perhaps did. In contrast to Pretty Woman’s Vivian, Anora’s Ani isn’t naïve or a woman who needs to be saved by a high-flying and successful man. Instead, Ani is ambitious, and strategic and doesn’t invite sympathy for the work she’s doing.

There’s even a powerful moment in the film where Ani pushes back on her manager’s request to get back to work by telling him that until he gives her health insurance and a pension, he doesn’t get to tell her what to do because she’s a freelancer and not a contracted employee. It’s a scene that highlights the current lack of employment rights for sex workers.

Anora, which won the Palme d’Or award at Cannes Film Festival, sees Madison deliver a truly mesmerising and career-defining performance – one that already has many critics predicting big wins for her and the film in awards season. But it’s also the cinematography and the pacing of the story that add to the tension and chaos of watching this love story come apart in a very high-stakes environment.

In the face of some of the most powerful people in the world, Madison’s Ani holds her own and advocates for herself and her own future. Baker could’ve gone down a darker, more violent route with how Ivan’s family deals with Ani’s marriage to their son but he doesn’t – which adds to the nuance and complexity of the film.

Ani’s love story – or lack thereof – reminds us that even though things may seem great on the surface – especially in the early days of meeting someone – relationships do go wrong and people have no choice but to navigate the fallout of these decisions. The Hollywood fairytale is just that: a fairytale that exists in fantasy rather than reality. And Anora perfectly encapsulates that sinking and uncomfortable feeling of when something indeed turns out to be too good to be true.

Anora is available to rent or buy on Apple TV now

Image: Neon