Sean Baker has a knack for opening his films with memorable pop songs. 2017’s The Florida Project kicks off with Kool & the Gang’s ‘Celebration’. In 2021’s Red Rocket, it’s NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye.‘ In both cases, the songs accompany the film’s opening credits in Baker’s signature Aguafina Script Pro font.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess, because last year’s Anora uses the same approach to wonderful effect.
The opening shot pans across a row of lap dancers servicing their clients before arriving at Mikey Madison’s Ani. She is facing the camera, not the anonymous man she’s servicing. The smile on her face suggests she either enjoys her work or is an excellent performer.
The shot is scored by a remix of the Take That song ‘Greatest Day,’ an ebullient track the opening lines of which perfectly foretell the story we’re about to watch: “This could be the greatest day of our lives / Before it all ends, before we run out of time.”
Anora is ultimately about the space between this shot and the very different one that closes the film.
[Note: Anora‘s opening isn’t on YouTube but I found it on this Twitter account. The clip contains nudity.]
(Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on)
(Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on)
[Verse 1]
Today this could be the greatest day of our lives
Before it all ends, before we run out of time
[Pre-Chorus]
Stay close to me
Stay close to me
Watch the world come alive tonight
Stay close to me
[Chorus: All]
Shine a light on our greatest days
Light up, light up
Shine a light on our greatest days
Light up, light up
[Verse 2: All]
Tonight this could be the greatest night of our lives
Let’s make a new start
The future is ours to find
[Pre-Chorus: Take That, Calum Scott, All]
Can you see it? (Can you see it?)
Can you see it in my eyes?
Can you feel it now? (Oh, can you feel it?)
Can you hold it in your arms tonight?
[Bridge: Take That, Calum Scott]
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
(Tonight, tonight)
Hold on, hold on
[Chorus: All, Calum Scott]
Shine a light on our greatest days
Light up (Light up), light up
Shine a light on our greatest days
Light up, light up
[Outro: Take That, Calum Scott]
Oh, and the world comes alive
(Light up, light up, shine a)
And the world comes alive
(Light up, light up, shine a)
And the world comes alive
(Light up, light up, shine a)
Oh, oh, oh
Stay close to me (And the world comes alive)
Hold on
Stay close to me (And the world comes alive)
Watch the world come alive tonight
Stay close to me
Meet Me In Montauk 
Definitively a titillating opening scene.😉
Do you think as you watch a film whether this or that moment is a candidate for your list? Or do you go through your list of films after the fact recalling which musical moments stood out to you?
I’m curious because I have a vague memory of the use of music throughout Anora in the club and party scenes but couldn’t begin to pull one of them out as a favorite. The dance scene in The Last Showgirl, on the other hand, was clearly a MOMENT.
Certain scenes stick with me after an initial viewing, and music moments do so more than others (in part because I know I’m going to eventually compile this list).
Also, I’m a sucker for great opening and closing moments, so one like this will definitely stand out, especially because it was paired with that amazing ending.