Sean Baker’s American Dreams

At last night’s Oscars ceremony, Mikey Madison was dressed like a winner. The star of Sean Baker’s Anora wore a pink Dior gown, a wink, perhaps, to this one Audrey Hepburn wears in Funny Face, and to Gwyneth Paltrow, a fellow Best Actress winner. In the film, Madison plays Ani, a street-smart exotic dancer who is promised the world by the bratty, 21 year-old son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. A madcap romp that sends its characters careening all over Brooklyn, it won Baker the Oscars for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, as well as Madison’s award for Best Actress.