Anora is the movie that unexpectedly dominated the Oscars and you need to watch it.

I'll be honest: the second I heard about Anora, I knew it was going to be my favourite film of the year.

Written and directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Red Rocket), Anora stars Mikey Madison (Scream, 2022) as the titular Anora.

Anora (who goes by Ani for the majority of the film) is a young sex worker from Brooklyn who meets and impulsively marries Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the very rich son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale romance is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

So, two things about me:

1. The Florida Project is one of my all-time favourite films, and I think it was ROBBED of a Best Picture nomination at the 2018 Oscars. I quite literally haven't shut up about it for years.

2. I ride so hard for the entire Scream franchise (yes, even Scream 3!) and I love, love, loved Mikey Madison in the 2022 requel.

Now that you have this lore about me, you can accurately imagine my excitement, my sheer delight, when I heard about Anora's Cannes Film Festival premiere earlier this year. And after an excruciating, months-long wait, my beloved Adelaide Film Festival finally announced that they would be screening it — news that I approached my friends with in a casual, chill, and extremely normal way.

Me being very chill with the group chat about the news that Anora was screening at the Adelaide Film Festival. Image: Supplied.

Well, great news, folks, because not only did I end up seeing Anora, but I loved it so much I saw it at AFF's second screening, too. And you know what? By the time you're reading this, I will have probably gone to see it for a third time.

Anora was the big winner of the 97th Academy Awards, walking away with five Oscar wins: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director.Mikey Madison is a star. Her performance is electric, magnetic, pitch-perfect from start to finish. She won the Oscar for Best Actress and the praise and hype for her performance is so well deserved. It's the kind of performance that's going to catapult her into the mainstream, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Watch the trailer for Anora. Article continues below.

But Madison isn't the only one delivering a great performance in the film — the rest of the cast is fantastic, too.

Yura Borisov also picked up an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, which absolutely checks out. Borisov plays Igor, a reluctant hired goon who — along with Madison — delivers some of the film's most emotional moments, as well as some of the funniest, laugh-out-loud scenes.

And look, while the rest of the cast is equally as impressive as Madison and Borisov, it's a shame that Mark Eydelshteyn didn't pick up much traction for his own nod in the Best Supporting Actor category. As others have pointed out, he's really giving "Russian Timothée Chalamet", and his performance as Ivan (or Vanya — he's called both throughout the film), the spoiled Russian brat who sweeps Ani off her feet, is so energetic, goofy and charming that you find yourself being swept up along with her, despite your better judgement.

Russian Timothée, is that you? Image: NEON

Then, there's writer/director Sean Baker, who has crafted a film that expertly straddles the line between comedy and drama from start to finish. Anora continues Baker's exploration of sex work that's seen in Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket, but it feels like an elevated version of Baker's previous films. The harsh edges have been buffed away, revealing his most accessible, crowd-pleasing film yet.

The end result is a film that is one of the funniest comedies of the year, while also packing an emotional punch that will likely make you cry. It grabs your attention early on and locks you in for a truly wild ride from start to finish. Baker may have missed out on a Best Director nod in the past, but this year he won Best Director at the 97th Academy Awards.

Technically, all the elements of the film work to serve the story. The rich colour palette, the dynamic cinematography, the soundtrack! There's one needle drop in the second act that made me gasp with glee, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

Watching the film, I truly had no idea what to expect. With several twists and turns along the way, I was so caught up in it all that I had no idea where we were in the story — whether it was about to finish or just hitting the halfway point. More importantly, I didn't care! I was just happy to be on the rollercoaster with these characters, watching as it all played out. At the film's emotionally resonant end, the audience sat in silence, letting it all sink in for a beat. That's the thing about Anora; under all the laughs lies a film that will linger in your mind for days.

Anora is screening at select cinemas around Australia. You can also rent or buy it on Apple TV.

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Feature image: NEON.