In the bustling heart of the New York Film Festival (NYFF), director Sean Baker delivered a knockout punch with his Palme d’Or-winning film Anora. Halfway through this gritty sex-worker dramedy, a scene unfolds that viewers won’t soon forget. What starts as an almost comedic confrontation between a mobster duo and a tough, resilient escort quickly spirals into a gut-wrenching tableau of toxic masculinity, violence, and power dynamics. With the clock ticking for 28 unflinching minutes of real-time action, the audience is left teetering on the edge of their seats, hearts racing.
The movie centers on Anora, played by the electrifying Mikey Madison, a strip-club dancer turned escort who impulsively marries the hapless son of a Russian oligarch. The scene that has left critics buzzing involves the arrival of two mobsters, Toros and Garnick, tasked with forcing her to annul the marriage. What begins with shattered lamps and violent threats soon turns into a psychological and physical battleground. Baker doesn’t shy away from throwing the audience into the fire, pulling the rug from beneath their feet as they witness the emotional and literal mayhem unfold.
Baker’s aim was clear: to make the audience live in the moment of a terrifying home invasion. “I wanted to do a set piece centered on a real-time home invasion, and it fleshed out from there,” Baker shared with the NYFF audience. The intensity of the shoot was palpable, so much so that Karren Karagulian, who plays Toros, admitted to suffering a panic attack from the overwhelming demands of the scene. “It was eleven pages of dialogue, and the night before, Sean texted me, ‘make sure you’re prepared for tomorrow,’ but then everything changed. Panic was everywhere.”
The actors rehearsed tirelessly for this showdown, with Madison performing her own stunts. Yet, despite the preparation, there was a raw, improvisational edge to the performances. Madison confessed, “I don’t think there’s really any preparation you can do for something like this. You just say action and fight like hell.”
As Neon prepares to release Anora on October 18, anticipation for the film and this breathtaking scene will only grow. Oscar buzz has already begun, and with industry insiders dissecting every moment, this film—and its iconic 28-minute showdown—will be talked about long after the credits roll.
