Anora

The film opens in a Brooklyn strip club, Headquarters. Anora, or “Ani” (Mikey Madison) is among the more popular dancers. Her best friend is Lulu (Luna Sofia Miranda), and she has a rivalry with Diamond (Lindsey Normington). Since Ani can speak some Russian, she is usually assigned to dance for Russian-speaking clients by her sleazy boss Jimmy (Vincent Radwinsky). Ani also lives with a roommate and hopes for a better life.

One evening at work, Ani is called to meet with Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn). His English is rusty, and her Russian isn’t great (she is embarrassed by her accent when speaking it), but the two get along and Vanya takes to Ani. He later invites her to his home for sex before telling her that he is the son of a wealthy oligarch, Nikolai Zakharov (Aleksei Serebryakov). This piques Ani’s interest even further. Vanya spends most of his time slacking off and playing video games in his home.

Ani and Vanya begin to spend more time together, with Ani bringing Lulu to some of his lavish parties, while Ani meets his friends Crystal (Ivy Wolk) and Tom (Anton Bitter). Although Ani is endeared to Vanya, he acts like a dick to hotel staff because he thinks it’s a funny joke. After having sex, Vanya tells Ani that he would like to pay her for the week to be his girlfriend. Even though Ani insists she is not a prostitute/escort, she agrees to the arrangement for $15,000.

Throughout the week, after much partying and sexual encounters, Ani starts to develop genuine feelings for Vanya. He tells her that his parents want him to start working at their company to begin his takeover. As an act of rebellion, Vanya proposes to Ani. After giving it some though, Ani accepts, and the two head off to Vegas to get hitched.

Vanya’s parents learn about the marriage, as news has quickly spread in Russia. Nikolai sends his enforcer/Vanya’s godfather Toros (Karren Karagulian) to see if the marriage is legit, and they are more pissed off to learn that there is an actual marriage license to cerng to the annulment. Although she insists that she and Vanya are genuinely in love, the men know the truth, and Toros forcefully takes her wedding ring.

The men bring Ani with them since they now have to go looking for Vanya. They first stop at the candy shop where Crystal and Tom work, since that’s where Ani and Vanya hung out with them. When they refuse to say anything about Vanya, Igor starts smashing all of the glass in the area. The group later drives around to various clubs, where they learn that Vanya had shown up but was thrown out for being too drunk or causing problems. At one point, Toros nearly gets his car towed, but he manages to drive off and unhook his vehicle from the two truck. Garnick later pukes in the car and gets yelled at by everyone for leaving a smell.

While having dinner, Ani gets a message from Lulu, saying that Vanya is at Headquarters and is getting a lap dance from Diamond. Ani and the other guys rush over there, and Ani proceeds to get into a fight with Diamond, to the amusement of the other dancers. They manage to get Vanya out but he is too drunk and passes out before he can explain himself.

In the morning, the men drive Ani and Vanya to the courthouse in Manhattan to meet with their lawyer. However, Ani reveals that since they got married in Vegas, the annulment cannot proceed there. Nikolai and Galina soon arrive in America and force the group to head to Vegas to end things immediately. Ani tries to introduce herself to Vanya’s parents, but Galina is rude and frosty toward her. They begin to board the family’s private plane, and when Ani tries to get Vanya to talk to his parents, he just tells Ani that the marriage was never going to work out to begin with. Ani initially refuses to get on the plane, saying she will just hire a lawyer to sue Vanya and his parents, but Galina promises to destroy Ani’s life if she doesn’t do what they say. On the plane ride, Vanya’s parents admonish him, and even Galina agrees with Ani when she says he is “fucking pathetic”.

Everyone makes it to the divorce attorney in Vegas. Ani tells Vanya off but ultimately signs the papers. Igor suggests that Vanya apologize to Ani for what he put her through, but Galina says nobody will apologize. She calls Ani a “dirty hooker”, to which Ani fires back that Vanya hates his mother so much that he married one just to piss her off. Nikolai starts bursting into laughter, even more so when Ani tosses back Galina’s scarf and coat that Vanya had given her before she finally leaves.

Igor escorts Ani back to New York. They stay in a hotel for the night, sharing cigarettes. Igor tries to be friendly with Ani, telling her that he prefers “Anora” over Ani, but she doesn’t care for his opinion. Ani accuses Igor of planning to rape her when they confronted her and Vanya at the mansion, but Igor insists that he is not that kind of person.

The next morning, Igor brings Ani back to her apartment. Before she gets out of the car, he gives her back the wedding ring that Toros took. Ani then mounts Igor to have sex with him in the car. He tries to kiss her, but she pushes him off. After a moment, Ani stops and begins breaking down crying while Igor holds her.

Anora, or “Ani”, is a tough-as-nails exotic dancer in Brooklyn. Since she speaks Russian, she is brought to meet Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. Vanya pays Ani for sex and to hang out with him before proposing marriage to her. Seeing this as a genuine romance and a way out of her current life situation, Ani agrees.

Vanya’s parents, Nikolai and Galina, soon catch wind of the marriage since the news spreads around Russia and humiliates them. Nikolai sends his enforcer Toros, plus bodyguards Garnick and Igor, to get Ani and Vanya to annul the marriage. Vanya runs away in a fit of cowardice, forcing Ani to work with the three men to get him back and end the marriage, after Ani is promised to be compensated.

After a hectic night around the city, Ani is alerted by her friend from her old strip club job that Vanya is there, getting a lap dance from a rival dancer. After a fight, the men and Ani get Vanya out of there. Once Nikolai and Galina arrive, they must head to Vegas to annul the marriage since that is where the two got married. Although Ani tries to talk to Vanya, he cannot bring himself to hold accountability, leading to both Ani and Galina to call him pathetic. Ani signs the papers and tells Galina off one last time before never seeing the Zakharovs again.

Igor (who is implied to have genuine feelings for Ani) brings Ani back to New York and returns her wedding ring that Toros took from her. She initiates sex with him, but after a while, she collapses crying into his arms.

Last Updated: December 04, 2024 at 10:58