APRIL 10, 2025 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | By Cate Rosenbaum
I’ve seen Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” (2017) three times, and each time I sobbed by the end.
I like to say that I’m moved by art, and I like the fact that I cry when I watch movies — I do believe that to be emotionally affected by art is one of the most powerful and impactful feelings — but typically, it’s the single cinematic tear falling down my cheek. It’s a small moment of personal movement, contained and yet still there, almost performative. With “The Florida Project,” though, I sobbed: Red puffy eyes, cheeks stinging, snot running. (Perhaps a part of this hook is just to tell you that you should absolutely go watch “The Florida Project” if you haven’t).
So I don’t know why I didn’t watch Baker’s 2024 film “Anora.” And now, having seen it, I have to say: I’m sorry Sean Baker. I forgot your game.
Many joked at the 2025 Oscars that there was a secret dark horse in the running—“Anora.” Since movie fans were upset at the many obvious controversies of “Emilia Perez,” it was easy for other possibly controversial films to run under the radar. And perhaps that worked in “Anora’s” favor: it won five out of the six Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director.
I hadn’t seen the movie at the time, so I followed the discourse on X (formerly Twitter) as it came up on my feed. Baker has been known to follow conservative accounts (such as IDF Babes and Libs of TikTok), which left a sour taste in many viewers’ mouths. The movie was filmed on a six million dollar budget, and after the 2025 Oscars, anonymous alleged crew members posted on social media about the film production’s avoidance of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union. Other crew members disputed the post, believing that the film’s production and wages were not outside of union standards.
“Anora” also won Best Original Screenplay, for a script that liberally employs the use of the f-slur by non-LGBTQ+ characters and many other instances of crude language. This seemed to be an unusual choice by the academy, especially compared to other films that might have been deemed to have deeper content, language, and meaning to viewers.
Mikey Madison’s Best Actress win wasn’t without controversy either. It’s a debatable myth that women are more likely to be nominated for the category, or win outright, if they portray a sex worker. In the Best Actress category, around 16 women have won for portraying sex workers or something of the like. The first woman ever to win Best Actress was Janet Gaylor, at only 22, who portrayed a sex worker. She held the title of youngest best actress winner for 56 years, until 1987. Mikey Madison is currently the ninth-youngest Best Actress winner in the Award’s history.
Another major controversy was Madison’s choice not to use an intimacy coordinator despite being given the option by Baker. This choice was controversial, as intimacy coordinators (a crew member whose job is to help and advocate for actors and crew while navigating sex scenes) are standard practice since the #MeToo movement in 2017. In a movie about a sex worker, where sex scenes were unavoidable, the choice to exclude an intimacy coordinator was questioned by many on the internet.
The film isn’t without its merits, either. Besides Madison, many of the background dancers and sex workers shown in the film really worked in the industry. For many of the sex workers who participated, this movie was a chance to show the realities, heartbreaks, and nuances that working in the sex worker industry presents. Many of Baker’s films concern sex workers (“Tangerine,” “The Florida Project,” “Red Rocket”). Though Baker puts these stories, which are often buried or ignored by modern consciousness, into conversation, I still can’t help but wonder what these movies might have looked like if they were written by women in the industry or even a woman in general. While there are merits to putting stories about sex workers into the mainstream, there are further grey areas that concern the optics of those who work on them, especially when we think about escaping the male gaze. Sex work is nuanced, and a story about one sex worker might not resonate with all sex workers begging the question: Is it worth it to include certain narratives, even if they do misrepresent others?
It’s a hard line to walk, but I’d argue that Baker does it well. He is uniquely talented in making the audience sympathetic; many of us, subconsciously or not, tend to look down upon sex work and the people who partake in it. In “The Florida Project,” Baker makes you root for the mom through the eyes of her child. In “Anora,” I genuinely rooted for the protagonist, the titular character. I wanted her relationship to work out, even knowing that it was likely doomed and that it was probably the point of the movie. Call me naïve, call me an idealist.
Baker inserts humanity into narratives that are often talked about without it, and I feel that’s partially one of the reasons that his films speak to me so much. The stories he tells make me want to hope, despite the real world, and when the real world comes crashing down, it feels all the more crushing and all the more empathetic for the characters going through it. Perhaps those are the movies that we should applaud; when reality is suspended, its crushing comeback makes the narrative’s resemblance of our own circumstances all the more reflective of our own lives.
Importantly, though, and probably the main reason why I wanted to write this review: no one told me that “Anora” is a comedy. I laughed during at least thirty minutes of its run time. The stakes are there, the drama is there, the real reflections of American society and sex work are there; and yet, Baker still ensures that the audience is having a good time. Anora is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, and that’s not to be dismissed. There’s only so much that you can impress upon a bored audience; there’s not so much you can impress upon an audience that’s not watching. The best movies present balance, commentary and entertainment, and Anora walks this line brilliantly. If you’re interested in suspense, love, comedy, and social commentary, then this is truly the movie for you.
I did sob when the movie ended, and I’m all the better for it. Despite the movie’s discourse, I’d encourage everyone to watch it. What is a Best Picture, if not a movie that moves you, excites you, and still manages to make you laugh?