Anora, written, directed and edited by Sean Baker, is a romantic comedy-drama/screwball tale with a sharp edge about love, class, identity, exploitation, and what we try to believe about ourselves.
Detailed Summary
Here are the critical moments:
- Ani (Anora) meets Vanya: Ani is a stripper/exotic dancer in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Her boss pitches her to clients who speak Russian; she meets Vanya (son of a Russian oligarch) when he hires her. Their relationship starts transactional.
- The Week-Girlfriend Contract & Vegas: Vanya asks Ani to be his girlfriend for a week, paying her. Things escalate: they go to his mansion, enjoy high-life spots, and eventually travel to Las Vegas where he proposes, and Ani accepts. They get married in a small chapel.
- Conflict with Family & Annulment Pressure: News reaches Vanya’s parents in Russia. His parents, especially his mother Galina, intervene. They dispatch Toros (his godfather, handler) plus garnick and Igor (henchmen) to annul the marriage and pressure Ani.
- Vanya’s Weakness / Flight & Ani’s Fight: Vanya is immature and often overwhelmed. He flees, leaving Ani to weather the storm. Ani fights back emotionally and physically at times. She resists being pawned.
- Legal & Emotional Defeat: Because the marriage was in Nevada, it can’t be simply annulled in New York. But ultimately Ani is pushed into agreement with annulment under duress and threat. She is offered 10,000 dollars; the parents threaten her life if she speaks up. She refuses at first, then is forced into compliance. Her ring is taken. She’s humiliated.
- Igor’s Role: Igor is one of the henchmen. Initially cold/just doing his job, but over time he shows kindness or empathy. He ends up being the only really steady presence for Ani in many moments, though burdened by his association with the oligarch family.
Movie Ending
Here’s what happens in the final stretch, what Ani ends up doing, and how it wraps up:
- After the annulment process, Ani is emotionally devastated. Vanya effectively abandons her; his parents have dismissed her. She ends up with nothing – no status, little power, much pain.
- Igor is tasked with driving Ani back to her home in Brighton Beach. He gives her back the promised money (the 10,000 USD) and also returns her wedding ring. This is symbolic: the ring was taken by Toros earlier; this returns to her as a gesture.
- Outside Ani’s apartment, while still in the car, Ani initiates sex with Igor. This is unexpected to some degree — not a tender romantic moment but one loaded with desperation, complexity, meaning. Midway through that intimacy, Igor tries to kiss her. Ani resists: she pulls back sharply. Then she collapses / breaks down into tears in his arms.
- The movie cuts to black with her crying in his arms. The final moments are quiet except for ambient sound (engine, windshield wipers, snow, etc.). There’s no triumphant resolution: Ani hasn’t “won” in the conventional sense, but she has had a moment of vulnerability, with someone who (maybe) sees her.
- It ends ambiguous. We aren’t told what Ani does next. Does she move forward with Igor? Does she return to her previous life? Will she reclaim power? The tear suggests something like release or surrender, or grief, or maybe recognition. It’s not “happy” in a fairy-tale sense, but it’s emotionally honest.
Are There Post-Credits Scenes?
No. There are no extra scenes during or after the end credits. Once credits start, the film has ended.
Type of Movie
- Romantic comedy-drama (“screwball” is often used) with serious undertones. It blends humor, tension, pathos.
- Also a character piece: society and class structure, power dynamics, identity (immigrant background, sex work), illusion vs. reality.
Cast
- Mikey Madison as Ani / Anora.
- Mark Eydelshteyn as Vanya (aka Ivan Zakharov), the oligarch’s son.
- Yura Borisov as Igor, a henchman who becomes a reluctant protector / ally.
- Karren Karagulian as Toros.
- Vache Tovmasyan as Garnick.
- Darya Ekamasova as Galina (Vanya’s mother).
- Aleksei Serebryakov as Nikolai (Vanya’s father / oligarch).
Film Music and Composer
The score is composed by Joseph Capalbo.
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Filming Locations
- Many scenes were shot in Brooklyn, New York: Brighton Beach, Mill Basin, Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Midwood.
- Ani’s house: interiors/exteriors at 156 Brighton 11th Street in Brooklyn.
- Parkview Diner at 2939 Cropsey Ave, and HQ KONY Gentlemen’s Club in Manhattan for strip club scenes.
- These locations are important: they ground the film in a specific socio-cultural milieu (Brighton Beach = big Russian / post-Soviet diaspora community). The contrast between the glitzy mansion / Vegas / luxury and Ani’s origin is sharper because the “home” is modest, gritty.
Awards and Nominations
- Anora premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2024, where it won the Palme d’Or.
- At the 97th Academy Awards, Anora was nominated in six categories and won five: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
- It also got other nominations at BAFTAs, Golden Globes, etc.
Behind the Scenes Insights
- The film was shot on KODAK 35mm film, anamorphic widescreen, by DP Drew Daniels.
- Baker, along with his producing partner Samantha Quan, had the final scene / ending worked out before the script was even finalized.
- Mikey Madison (Ani) said filming the ending was emotionally strenuous: she describes a “pit in [her] stomach” every time she saw that scene in the script.
- The ending is intentionally ambiguous; Baker wants audiences to interpret Ani’s emotional state, her choices, without a tidy resolution.
Inspirations and References
- The film draws inspiration from Nights of Cabiria (1957) by Federico Fellini — especially that final tear, the mix of tragedy, exploitation and resilience.
- Broadly, Anora resonates with Cinderella stories, but twisted: the transformation, the illusion of escape, the idea that marrying “up” will solve everything — and then the crash when reality intrudes.
Memorable Scenes and Quotes
Key Scenes
- The Las Vegas wedding — where Ani and Vanya impulsively get married. The high feeling, the champagne, etc — a turning point.
- The confrontations when Vanya’s parents find out, especially the visit by Toros + Garnick + Igor to challenge the marriage. These expose the uglier mechanics of class, status, power.
- Ani’s fights — physical and verbal — when her dignity is attacked and she must push back. Her “heels up” moments.
- The final sequence in the car with Igor: the return of the ring, Ani initiating intimacy, the abrupt stop when Igor tries to kiss her, the tears. This is the emotional crescendo.
Iconic Quotes
- Ani confronting someone: “You think I’m just a thing you can buy with a ring.” (Paraphrase)
- Them calling her “prostitute” / “stripper” and Ani’s retorts about dignity, identity.
- Igor’s small moments: e.g. when he looks up the meaning of “Anora” (her name) and tells her it means “light” / “bright.”
Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes
I did not find solid publicly confirmed info on alternate endings or major deleted scenes beyond what’s in the final cut. There are discussions online among viewers about small dialogue lines, small talk after the final intimacy, maybe versions with more closure, but nothing that is officially documented (in my sources) as a cut alternate ending.
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Book Adaptations and Differences
- Anora is not adapted from a book; it is an original screenplay by Sean Baker.
- Therefore there are no “book vs movie” differences. But there are genre expectations (fairy-tale / Cinderella dynamics) that are subverted.
Why Watch?
- Because it looks like a rom-com or fairy-tale on the surface, but feels much deeper: class, identity, sex work, emotional labor.
- Because Mikey Madison’s performance is powerful: she carries Ani with fire, vulnerability, anger and heartbreak.
- Because Sean Baker doesn’t shy away from the messy middle: the ambiguity, the flaws, the emotionally difficult moments.
- For film lovers: strong cinematography, grounded setting (Brighton Beach), and the way tone shifts from humor to sorrow in believable ways.
Director’s Other Movies
- Tangerine (2015)
- Red Rocket (2021)
- The Florida Project (2017)
- Starlet (2012)
- Prince of Broadway (2008)
