Anora (2024)
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A New York lap dancer's life takes a wild turn after she impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch.
The story
Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a 23-year-old stripper, lives in Brighton Beach, a Russian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Her boss introduces her to Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov, the 21-year-old son of the Russian oligarch Nikolai Zakharov, who has requested a dancer fluent in Russian. Vanya is in the U.S. to study but spends his time partying in clubs and his parents' lavish mansion. After a series of encounters, Vanya offers Ani $15,000 to be his girlfriend for a week. During an extravagant trip to Las Vegas, Vanya impulsively proposes marriage to Ani, who agrees. They elope, and Ani moves into his mansion, unaware of the complications her new status will bring from his powerful family.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a 23-year-old stripper in Brooklyn, enters a whirlwind romance with Vanya, the son of a Russian oligarch. After eloping in Las Vegas and moving into his mansion, the reality of her situation hits when Vanya's family discovers the marriage. His mother, Galina, sends her Armenian godfather, Toros, to arrange an annulment. Toros and his henchmen confront Ani, and she is forced into a desperate search for Vanya across Brooklyn. They eventually find him at his former strip club, but he is too intoxicated to cooperate. They wait outside a courthouse overnight, where the annulment is dismissed because the marriage took place in Nevada. At the airport, Ani confronts Vanya's parents; Vanya chooses his family's side, and Ani is threatened with financial ruin if she doesn't sign the annulment. She eventually signs, and the film ends with a tense, intimate encounter between Ani and one of the henchmen, Igor, who returns her wedding ring.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 139
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Armenian
- Cast and characters
- Mikey Madison · Anora "Ani" Mikheeva; Mark Eydelshteyn · Vanya; Yura Borisov; Karren Karagulian; Vache Tovmasyan; Darya Ekamasova; Aleksei Serebryakov
- Genres
- romantic comedy-drama; comedy; drama
- Themes
- sex work; class conflict; power dynamics; identity
- Tone and mood
- wild; profound; tragic; screwball
- Setting
- Brooklyn, New York and Las Vegas
- Premise and plot tags
- romance; comedy; drama; independent
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and several Academy Awards. It was praised for its performances and its portrayal of sex work, though some critics noted issues with pacing and character depth.
- Reported review scores
- AlloCiné · score: 4.2 · scale: 5 · review count: 45
- Production trivia
- The film was inspired by a story from a friend about a Russian-American newlywed kidnapped for collateral.; The film's production included a 10-day shoot for the 25-minute home invasion scene.; The film's cinematography was inspired by 1970s crime dramas like The French Connection.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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