Welcome to my new film analysis series, where I finally put my film degree to use. Spoilers ahead.

Anora, Sean Baker’s latest film, is as funny as it is heartbreaking. The titular character, who prefers to go by the anglicized nickname Ani, is a 23-year-old sex worker from Brooklyn who thinks she is getting her own Cinderella story after she meets Ivan, the 21-year-old son of a Russian billionaire oligarch. The line between client and potential boyfriend gets blurred when Vanya pays to be exclusive with her outside the strip club. Ani quickly gets swept up in Ivan’s carefree lifestyle fuelled by drugs (“You can’t get coke this good in Moscow.”) But like any high, the crash is brutal. Reality hits harder than Ani could have ever prepared for.

Ivan represents Ani's dream life of freedom and adventure funded by never-ending wealth. It's easy to see why she falls for him: He is fun, charismatic, and generous. He is the Great Gatsby in a Euro-trash wardrobe. To keep the party going, he proposes they get married in Vegas. This offer is as close to love as Ani can comprehend being in her line of work, where everything is a transaction. She can give him a green card and plenty of sex, and in return, he can provide financial security and social protection. It's more than a good deal for her.

Pin

But when word gets back to Ivan's family in Russian that he married an escort, Ivan's godfather Toros, a local priest, is sent to deal with him. Toros enlists the help of two henchmen, Garnick and Igor, as they storm Ivan's mansion in Brooklyn and demand that the couple divorce immediately. As soon as Ivan learns his parents are on a plane to America, he bolts, not even waiting a few minutes for Ani to get dressed. Left behind with the three goons, Ani is terrified they might hurt her. The goons aren’t malicious, but they need to get the situation under control. When Ani tries to run away—destroying furniture and possibly breaking Garnick’s nose in self-defense—they bind and gag her. They try to drill into Ani’s head that she doesn't know this guy. Ivan has nothing. The mansion, the money, and even the diamond ring on her finger all belong to his parents. The goons are Ivan's long-suffering babysitters and they are tired of his antics.

For all her street smarts, Ani ignores Ivan's red flags. He is in full vacation mode—a last hurrah before he has to return to Russia to work in his father’s company. It’s not that Ivan is purposely deceptive; he really wants to believe in the fantasy of the future he paints for her, going so far as to marry her in Vegas. Ani believes their marriage is real because she has the four-carat diamond ring and marriage certificate to prove it. But Ivan only lives in the moment. He is here for the good times, but he’s gone when the party's over, already in search of a better one.

A key scene foreshadows Ivan’s selfishness and unpredictability when they arrive at the Vegas hotel. After the manager tells them they’ll have to wait due to their last-minute reservation, Ivan throws a tantrum. As the manager becomes flustered, Ivan laughs, claiming he was just joking and that he doesn't mind waiting. While Ivan has no problem mingling with the working class, they are here for his entertainment.

Ivan's friends, who show up at his parties and on their Vegas trip, are still working at their regular jobs—a candy shop, a restaurant. When the chance to party with a billionaire’s son arises, they take it, but they’re not delusional enough to believe it’s their reality. Ani doesn't realize that the party is over for her too. She doesn't even consider that her background as a sex worker would be an issue in Ivan's world of extreme wealth and status. Even after she finds Ivan severely intoxicated and receiving a lap dance from her nemesis, Ani remains optimistic that they can put on a united front, win over his parents, and make their marriage work.

Throughout the film, I expected the father to be the domineering patriarch, ruling with an iron fist, Succession-style. But it’s the mother who wields the power. She makes her formidable entrance stepping off a private plane alone and walking towards Ivan with an angry, purposeful stride. The father lingers passively behind, unwilling to shoulder the emotional labor, mirroring Ivan’s own avoidance of responsibility.

When Ani sees the mother, she’s filled with hope, smiling as she tells her how happy she is to be part of the family. But the mother acts like she is not there. To her, Ani is nothing more than a nuisance. Ani fails to realize how much of an embarrassment she is to Ivan's family. Their marriage has made national headlines in Russia, and they're furious, wanting nothing more than to end it as quickly as possible.

Until the very end, Ani clings to the fantasy that she and Ivan can somehow stay together. But Ivan, exasperated, finally snaps, asking her if she’s stupid—can’t she see that they have no choice but to board the plane back to Vegas and sign the divorce papers? In their final scene together, Ivan can’t look her in the eye. He puts on his sunglasses and leaves with his parents after the papers are signed, leaving Ani stranded in a dream that will never come true.

Igor, one of the goons who shows Ani unexpected kindness throughout the film, steals the engagement ring from his boss and returns it to Ani when he's tasked with taking her home. In return, Ani rewards him with the only thing she believes has value—her body. She straddles a surprised Igor in the car, but as he leans in to kiss her, Ani breaks down. Maybe it’s from the disrespect and humiliation she endured with Ivan. Maybe it's from the fear of real intimacy with a decent man. Maybe it’s the harsh reality of having to return to a life of struggle and hustle. Or the realization that her future lies with someone like Igor—kind, but working-class. Even though she was so close, the fantasy of the high life is truly over.