Anora is a new comedy-drama from director Sean Baker about a sex worker in Brooklyn (played by Mikey Madison, best known for her roles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream) who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch. The pair end up having an impulsive wedding in a Las Vegas chapel, but their fairytale romance is disrupted when his disapproving parents arrive in New York, determined to annul the marriage. Think Euphoria meets Pretty Woman. Now, we have our first exteded look at at the finished film.

Set to an orchestral rendition of Blondie’s ‘Dreaming’, the trailer promises ecstatic glamour and dizzying romance, limos, night clubs and neon lighting. There is always an element of pathos and sincerity to Sean Baker’s work, and Anora seems to be no exception – alongside the elements of comedy and cultural commentary, it looks like a straight-up, honest-to-God love story (although not necessarily a happy one).

Anora is the eight film from Baker, who has won widespread acclaim for his previous outings which include 2015’s Tangerine, which follows two trans sex workers as they roam around LA on Christmas Eve; The Florida Project (2017), a bracing examination of poverty set in the shadow of Disney World, and Red Rocket (2021), a film about a failed porn star returning to his hometown in Texas, which expertly blends goofy sex comedy with heartbreaking pathos. 

Like his previous work, Anora has met with a rapturous reception. It became the first American film since 2011 to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes, where it also received a ten-minute standing ovation. Greta Gerwig, who was serving as the president of the Cannes Film Festival Jury, said “Anora was something we collectively felt we were transported by, we were moved by [...] It felt both new and in conversation with older forms of cinema.” Critics have described it as “a devastating, gut-busting beauty”, an “amazing, full-throttle tragicomedy” and “Sean Baker's most searing and shattering film yet,” with many singling out praise for Mikey Madison’s performance.

Anora will have its British premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 11, before being released by Universal Pictures in cinemas around the UK on November 1. You can watch the new trailer above.