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With Anora Movies, a star is born, and so is a debate. When Anora swept the 2025 Oscars with 5 wins, it didn’t just cement the status of Sean Baker as a filmmaker unafraid to spotlight the outsiders of society. It reignited the century-old conversation of Hollywood: why does the Academy love performances about sex work? What do these stories actually achieve?
Anora Movies wins 5 Oscars
Anora won 5 Oscars, including Best Director for Sean Baker, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, and Best Picture award. In the tearful acceptance speech of Madison, where she vowed to recognize and honor the sex work community, it felt like a watershed moment.
For the real-life sex workers, like the ones in East London Strippers Collective, the triumph of the movie was bittersweet. As per Maddie, one of the collective members said, “We didn’t see any of, like, who she really is as a person.” “It’s a step forward, but where’s the call for decriminalization?” she added.
Anora Movies Plot: Cinderella in the Fishnets
The movie follows the life of Ani (Madison), the sharp-tongued Brooklyn stripper who stumbled into a whirlwind romance with Vanya (role-played by Mark Eydelshteyn). He is a spoiled son of the Russian oligarch.
What began as a transactional arrangement, where Vanya pays Ani to play the role of his girlfriend, later escalated into the Vegas wedding and the fleeting taste of luxury. But when the family of Vanya intervened and sent henchmen to annul the marriage, the fairy tale of Ani crumbled.
The structure of the movie mirrors the classic Hollywood tropes,
- Rags-to-riches Romance (Act 1)
- Chaotic chase through the underbelly of New York (Act II) and
- The gut-punch finale veers into the raw vulnerability (Act III).
Baker borrowed from the playbook of Pretty Woman but subverted it. Ani is not rescued by the billionaire; she instead gets discarded by one.
Anora Movies: Mikey Madison’s revelation in resilience
Madison, who’s previously known for her supporting roles in Scream and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, delivers a career-defining performance. Ani is the paradox, calculating and hopelessly naïve, tough yet tender. Madison did nail the role’s physicality (brawling, pole dancing, and cocaine-snorting) but shines in the quieter moments, like the devastating final scene wherein she collapsed into sobs after the hollow sexual encounter she had with Igor (Yura Borisov), the remorseful henchman of an oligarch.
As noted by a critic who referenced tragic figures like Vivien Leigh’s suicidal Myra in Waterloo Road, “You’re confident she won’t meet the sad fate of screen sex workers of yore.” However, Baker’s generosity towards Ani doesn’t sanitize reality. Her resilience is heart-breaking and inspiring— the woman so accustomed to being commodified that genuine kindness destabilizes her.
Anora Movies: S*x Work Obsession of Hollywood- Is it Exploitation or Empowerment?
Anora joined the long line of Oscar-bait roles.
- Elizabeth Taylor- Butterfield 8
- Jane Fonda- Klute
- Emma Stone- Poor Things whimsical brothel worker role.
16 Academy Awards went to the actors who played the sex workers’ role, a statistic which begs the question: Is Hollywood prurient or progressive?
As argued by the critics, the roles often cater to the fantasies of the men. Molly Haskell, a film historian, said, “It’s male projections of the kind of women they think they’d like.” The sex workers on the screen are frequently reduced to tragic victims (see: Leaving Las Vegas), or the manic pixie dreams girls, like Pretty Woman, showing Julia Robert’s escapades filled with laughter. Even Anora’s Ani, while being layered, exists quite primarily in the “work context,” as Maddie noted. We learn very little about her hobbies, family, or dreams beyond the escape to Brighton Beach.
Anora Movies: Sean Baker and her Balancing Act- Empathy vs. Exploitation
Baker, who is known to build a career on humanizing marginalized communities, Tangerine and The Florida Project, walks the tightrope with Anora. The movie avoids the lurid voyeurism; the stripping scenes of Ani are shot with matter-of-factness and not titillation. However, it struggles to break completely free from the glossy conventions of Hollywood.
To compare Anora to the unflinching portraits like Lilya 4-Ever by Lukas Moodysson or Jeanne Dielman of Chantal Akerman wherein the sex work has been rendered in the agonizing routine. New York by Baker is grimy, yet it’s oddly romanticized; with the golden-hour shots of the parachute jump in Coney Island and the sequined costumes of Ani, it all softens the struggles edges.
Anora Movies: Representation is not enough
For the East London Strippers Collective, the storyline of Anora and the accolades simply ring hollow without the policy change. As said by Stacey Clare, The Ethical Stripper’s author, “Celebrities naming sex workers in speeches is nice,” “but real progress is living without fear of criminalization,” she added. While pop culture (Cardi B, Julia Fox) and OnlyFans did normalize sex work, worldwide laws still continue to punish the most vulnerable— the immigrants, street-based workers, and the ones who battle their addiction.
Another collective member, Sam, critiqued the movie’s narrow focus. “Ani’s a privileged white American. What about those surviving on the streets?”
The upbeat ending of the movie, where Ani pockets the diamond ring and is seen walking offscreen, feels like the Hollywood band-aid. In truth, the systemic change needs more than the plucky protagonist.
Anora Movies Verdict: A Triumph with Asterisk
Anora is compelling undeniably with the heartrending and riotous ride anchored by the star power of Madison. Baker’s direction is vibrant, blending screwball comedy with social commentary. However, the Oscar wins of Anora Movies highlight the frustrating paradox: Hollywood just loves the stories about sex work and yet remains completely reluctant to platform the sex workers themselves.
With the credits rolling, Ani’s future is ambiguous. Will she be returning to stripping? Will she start a new life? The moves don’t say at all. However, the conversation it did spark is quite clear. Destigmatization needs more than just bringing in empathy. It demands, and it needs clear action.
The Irony of the Oscars: Postscript
When Anora dominated the ceremony, the most poignant moment of the night belonged to “No Other Land,” the documentary about the Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. Yuval Abraham, the Co-director, made a plea through it—“Stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.” It was a stark reminder that the highest honors of the cinema often amplify the stories that the world needs to hear desperately.
Perhaps the legacy of Anora won’t be the trophies but the ability to ask uncomfortable questions about power and love, and who actually gets to tell the story of who?
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