NEW YORK - A new movie that won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival has made its debut in London, as its breakout star continues to gain significant Oscars momentum. Anora was awarded the Palme d’Or at the French film festival in May, launching its lead actress Mikey Madison into the race for best actress at next year’s Academy Awards. The film tells the story of a 23-year-old woman who is working as a stripper in New York when she meets the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. In a storyline with slight echoes of 1990’s Pretty Woman, the man pays Anora to move into his mansion and become his girlfriend, and the pair enjoy a whirlwind romance. The film has received highly positive reviews, with critics agreed on Madison’s impressive performance in the lead role.
“If there was ever a time to roll out the red carpet and put an actress on the map, this is it,” said Screen Rant’s Patrice Witherspoon. “Madison is a star.” The actress gives a “terrific performance”, agreed the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, adding that the actress “owns the screen”. Madison may not yet be a household name, but she is also not a newcomer, having perviously appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the 2022 reboot of horror franchise Scream.
But, as the Evening Standard’s Maddy Mussey put it: “Anora is essentially her big break, and boy does she nail it.” Madison and director Sean Baker walked the red carpet ahead of the film’s UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall on Friday. Anora is directed by Sean Baker, the US film-maker behind Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket.