New York City can be an icy place even without its freezing temperatures. On the whole, what Baker has created here is nothing short of pure movie magicβ his smartly interwoven urban machinations make you giggle and inexplicably tear up on repeat sometimes within the same sequence , while somehow keeping you acutely aware of the sorrow that is bound to rise to the surface. There is joy next to sadness. There is comedy inside a tragedy.
Often wisely and compassionately vocal about the need to destigmatize it, Baker has told stories about sex work and sex workers before. She just goes about her business with her clientele, and bickers with the other girls in the same professionβsome, her genuine friends, and others, her rivals.
But this is in part a Cinderella story, so the knight does appear one day. He is Ivan Mark Eydelshteyn , the prodigal son of a Russian oligarch. The place, fashioned with utmost attention to character detail by production designer Stephen Phelps, is kind of like Ivan, and maybe like his family, too. Clearly touched by heaps of money, but somehow, not all that lovely, cozy, or welcoming. Still, the duo continue to have some fun during and after their transactional rendezvouses.
And before we know it, Ivan pops the question during a Vegas trip. Little do they know that she has teeth, a fighting spirit and more backbone than any of them could handle. Here though, she has a layer of vulnerability too, something she manages to hide from most people. But not from us, and certainly not from Igor. Quietly, an allegiance occurs before our eyes whether the people who form it are aware of it or not. Having filled their lives with so much tenderness and well-researched details, Baker cares about them just as much.
This review was filed from the Toronto International Film Festival. It opens on September 27th,. Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. Anora TIFF. Anora Comedy. Leave a comment. Now playing. Latest articles. The best movie reviews, in your inbox.
