Movie review: 'Anora' removes fairy tale glow from 'Pretty Woman' story

"Anora" (R)

At the Myrna Loy and Cinemark.

Grade: A-

In 1990 Julia Roberts, a lady who works evening hours, met Richard Gere, a rich businessman. They hooked up, then fell in love – and lived happily ever after.

Sean Baker's "Anora" revises the "Pretty Woman" story, with darker tones, removing the fairy tale glow.

The film does not glamorize stripping or prostitution. Nor is the romance a rewrite of "My Fair Lady/Pygmalion," a male savior story of sorts where a man (with help from Venus) rescues a woman from her "sad fate."

The first act of "Anora" does, however, follow the Sleeping Beauty formula.

Anora, who goes by Ani, is a Brooklyn girl who works as a dancer at a Manhattan strip club. Her Russian grandmother taught Ani their homeland language.

One fine day, Vanya, a handsome young Russian, visits the club and asks if any of the girls speak Russian.

Cue Ani.

What begins as special dances in private rooms evolves into a weekly rental ($15K, since you are curious). Then, on a bright-lights getaway, the whirlwind affair morphs into a Vegas marriage.

By this time we've learned that Vanya's dad is not just rich, but obscenely wealthy and powerful. When news of his son's romance reaches him, he sends two muscle men to solve this "problem."

"Anora" abruptly leaves fantasyland to take us on an interior journey inside a woman who, when she realizes she's being betrayed, counterpunches powerfully and angrily.

We hope this bright, sweet lady can escape unharmed.

In mid-film the script takes a surprising turn toward black comedy, a detour I found distracting at best.

The two Russian heavies turn out to be bumbling bodyguards, no match for Ani. She leaves them bewildered and even limping.

But when Vanya's ruthless parents arrive, the laughing stops.

In the third act "Anora" evolves into the touching drama that led to "Anora" winning Palm d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes festival. That award was followed by almost unanimous critical acclaim.

The applause appropriately focuses on Mikey Madison's Oscar-level performance.

Madison reaches behind the "hooker with the heart of gold" façade to introduce us to a wounded woman, with unrealized dreams. She recoils angrily at sexist slurs.

Ani views herself as a victim of circumstance, hoping the darkness of a strip club will give way to brighter, lighter days.

The final act is deeply touching as she literally and metaphorically screams as her fantasy collapses.

The film ends with a concluding ray of hope that, at first, felt like a commercial compromise.

But the more I ponder the film – which has lingered with me – the ending seems appropriately ambiguous.

Fair warning to modest moviegoers: this film is graphic. Madison plays her role as dancer/escort without shame or embarrassment. Scenes are not edited to appease censors or blushing bluebirds. In an online interview with French actress Isabelle Huppert, Madison says she played nudity as her "costume," enhanced, at times, by heels.

The strippers are not romanticized. They are trying to pay rent and buy food, in a livelihood infested with addictive drugs and abusive patriarchs. Some are strong enough to survive, but not all.

"Anora" is a feminist critique of a society that demeans women in a multitude of ways.

And yet "Anora" weaves in a thread of optimism by introducing us to someone strong enough to fight back.

I shrugged away the slapstick detours and was ultimately won over by the transparency of Ani. She shares her pain with us, while lashing out at anyone who objectifies her or diminishes her.

Her anger is directed at us, as well. Are we allies or voyeurs?

Movies like "Anora" walk a tightrope between being a feminist warning and a male-gaze fantasy. We meet a ferociously strong woman who strips for a living. We follow her into clubs where women dance to please men.

But Sean Baker's "Anora" is not exploitive.

Instead, thanks to Madison, "Anora" spins a cautionary tale of how we damage others by reducing them to demeaning stereotypes.

Ani is proud, strong – and damaged.

We underestimate the Anis in our world at our own peril.

Brent Northup has been reviewing movies for 48 years in Helena, Seattle and Houston. He is a professor of communication and journalism at Carroll College.

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