Anora, this year’s feisty update on the 1990 film Pretty Woman, has become something of a critical darling. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. Its lead, Mikey Madison, has been tipped to win best actress at the Oscars. And The Guardian just named it one of 2024’s best films.
Watching Anora as a sex worker, I found it a welcome departure from the long list of reactionary and misogynist portrayals of workers in the sex industry. It’s certainly not a perfect film, and reviewers have been particularly split over the meaning of the last scene (there are dozens of takes on this).
But the plotline isn’t what sets Anora apart. The film’s representation of the work of sex is a quiet, radical act, and for that it deserves its accolades.
