The exuberant star-making performance of Mikey Madison (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Scream) in the title role of Sean Baker’s new film, Anora, is getting a lot of attention, as it should. But all the characters and performances are so vivid and lively, they make the whole movie an exhilarating experience.

Writer-director Baker’s longtime commitment to independent filmmaking, evident in all his films including the most recent, Tangerine (2015) and The Florida Project (2017), results in class-conscious movies focused on the lives of marginalized characters. They’re mostly working-class people struggling to realize some version of the American dream, though they’re coming at it from disadvantaged starting points.

I almost teared up writing that, it’s so rare and valuable a commitment.