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So goes the year’s most unromantic cinema seduction in “Anora,” which paradoxically may be the best movie of 2024.

The dollars-for-dallying deal — “fifteen” means $15,000 — between a canny New York exotic dancer and the pampered son of a Russian oligarch sets in motion Sean Baker’s high-voltage screwball comedy, winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Writer-director Baker has long had a fascination with, as well as genuine empathy for, the imperfect characters in the sex-for-hire trade, as seen in his previous films “Starlet,” “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.”

His obsession comes to full fruition with “Anora,” in which Mikey Madison, who played a Manson Family member in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” simply slays in the title role, a potty-mouthed Brooklyn pole dancer having a cockeyed Cinderella moment.

Anora, who prefers to be called Ani, meets baby-faced Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn). She’s 23, mindful of money and her future; he’s 21 going on 12, without a care in the world — a situation that’s about to change.

Ani and Vanya hook up at the Brooklyn strip club where she unhappily pursues her trade, working for a bad boss. Vanya is attracted to Ani’s forthright sexuality and amused by her attempts at speaking Russian, which she learned from her grandmother.

She seems charmed by Vanya’s naivety (he may be a virgin) and his willingness to spend big money on what they call in the sex trade “the girlfriend experience,” which in this case is $15,000 for one week of constant company and carnal amusement. Extensions can be negotiated.

Feckless Vanya is used to living the high life in America. He resides in a waterfront Brooklyn mansion that looks like an art museum, spending his days getting stoned and playing video games while his father, Nikolai (Aleksey Serebryakov), and mother, Galina (Darya Ekamasova), take care of shady business back home in Russia.

After much spending, humping and partying, including a wild New Year’s Eve bash, Ani and Vanya have a quickie wedding in Las Vegas, for which she demands a three-carat diamond ring (generous Vanya makes it four).

Here’s where this speedster of a tale really gets going, taking turns we can’t see coming and delivering a story that completely satisfies.

Vanya’s shocked and angry parents learn of their son’s wedding and dispatch stooges to bust up the couple. Leading the charge is the family’s New York fixer, an Armenian priest named Toros (Baker film regular Karren Karagulian). He’s Vanya’s godfather and supposedly his minder in America. Toros has been preoccupied by his church gig — he needs to hastily leave a baptism to take charge of the Vanya problem.

As he hurries to Vanya’s abode, he sends ahead of him his dopey brother, Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and a third stooge, Russian heavy Igor (Yura Borisov), who seems uncertain about the mission but is nonetheless obedient.

They all assume they can bully and bribe Ani into accepting an annulment. They don’t reckon on the stubbornness of the new bride, a woman who doesn’t like being called a hooker and who packs a surprisingly strong punch, as Garnick’s nose soon discovers.

Wonder of wonders, she might actually have feelings for the undeserving Vanya, whose sudden disappearance sets our players on the prowl.

Of such complications are grand screwball comedies made, which is why Cannes jury president Greta Gerwig invoked classic filmmakers Ernst Lubitsch and Howard Hawks while awarding the Palme to “Anora” last spring.

The screwball genre (Lubitsch’s “Ninotchka” comes to mind) is typified by a strong female protagonist in unexpected circumstances that often involve a road trip.

This describes “Anora” to a tee, as the film zigzags between New York and Vegas. But it’s more than just cinematic homage Baker is pursuing, aided by the colour-saturated and fleet-footed camerawork of cinematographer Drew Daniels.

Baker is not inclined to judge his characters or their rough milieu. On the contrary, he actually cares about them. This includes Nikolai and Galina’s three unfortunate stooges, who understandably fear the consequences of failing to please their masters. Toros, Garnick and Igor spend a frozen and increasingly frantic night with Ani driving around New York in Toros’ white SUV, looking for Vanya.

They also have reason to be wary of Ani, a character like none other to hit the big screen this year. Madison, who’s been garnering Best Actress Oscar buzz, has a way of keeping us loyal to her character even while making it hard to fully embrace her.

She’s also that way with the thugs, who can’t help warming to her even as she abuses them.

When one of them attempts to say something nice, she responds, “Did I ask for your f—king opinion?”