Warning: This post contains spoilers for AnoraAnora’s ending is sad. Written and directed by Sean Baker, who previously received acclaim for The Florida Project and Rocket Man, Anora’s reviews have been exceptionally positive. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and has been in consideration for awards. Anora ends with Mikey Madison’s тιтle character getting on a private plane with the rest of Anora’s cast — Vanya, his parents, Igor, Toros, and Garnick — to Las Vegas to get her marriage annulled. Anora resists being forced to do something she doesn’t want to do, but she’s threatened by Vanya’s mother, Galina, if she doesn’t comply.

Anora, still wanting to fight, but tired of being pushed around and treated like she’s nothing, goes along with the group to Vegas. She knows at this point her options are limited and Vanya’s family is too rich and powerful to fight. In Vegas, Vanya pretty much ignores Anora and her pleas. She signs the annulment papers before tossing Galina her mink coat and leaving. She goes back to New York with Igor, who takes Anora to the bank and gives her back her engagement ring. Anora initiates Sєx with Igor before stopping and breaking down in tears.

Why Anora Only Cries At The End Of The Film

The Film Ends With Anora Crying In Igor’s Car

Anora spends most of the film cursing at everyone who works for Vanya’s parents, and she keeps telling herself that she doesn’t need anyone while she defends herself. Anora pleads with Vanya to fight for her throughout the film, but by the end, she is exhausted from fighting on her own with no real backup. The reality is that all the events affected Anora; she was humiliated, forced to get an annulment, and had her character questioned. It was only in the quiet moment with Igor that she was able to fully feel all her feelings and be vulnerable.

The only person Anora could count on was herself, but Igor was kind to her in instances when others were not, which is why she felt safe to cry with him. Anora probably thought that crying in front of Vanya, his parents, and Toros would have made her seem weak. Still in the middle of the whole ordeal and shocked by the turn of events, Anora didn’t know what would happen at the time. It’s as though the moment she breaks down is a moment where her feelings and the trauma of everything that happened finally caught up with her.

Will Anora & Igor Get Together?

Their Relationship Is Unclear Moving Forward

Anora has an antagonistic relationship with Igor, but he’s also the only one who treats her like a human being, sympathizing with her when no one else would. While Anora was still annoyed with Igor at the end, there was a bit of flirting going on between the pair. Anora likely felt she could trust Igor out of everyone she dealt with, and he understood her predicament without judgment. Considering Anora tries to have Sєx with him momentarily, Baker alludes to them potentially becoming romantically involved. Anora shows vulnerability with Igor, and he doesn’t push her away.

While the basis of a romantic relationship wouldn’t have a strong foundation because it was amid Anora experiencing something traumatic, she and Igor might try to be together for a while. It likely won’t last because, though. In the end, Igor still helped Vanya’s family push Anora towards an annulment she didn’t want, and that’s bound to make her feel some kind of way in the long run — whether they get together or not. Anora’s ending may tease a coupling, but there’s also enough evidence that it won’t happen and might be, in fact, a bad idea.

What’s Next For Anora After Having Her Marriage Annulled

Anora Is Now At A Crossroads

Anora receives the money that was promised to her for leaving Vanya, but that sum will only last her for so long. Having quit her job as a stripper, and having been humiliated after having to pull Vanya out of the strip club in front of all of her former co-workers, Anora won’t likely go back to working there considering everything that transpired. If she does, Anora must be prepared to face a lot of backlash, gossip, and embarrᴀssment. Anora might continue working as a stripper, but she may lay low for a while before going back to work.

After all, she went through a lot and the emotional aftermath — including the betrayal and the mistreatment from Vanya and his family — took a toll on her. She needs time to recover, so she might live off the money she was paid for a time before figuring out what comes next in her life. Anora dealt with something that will stay with her for a long time to come, and she needed time to process everything that happened, her actions and Vanya’s actions, and how these things will shape and affect her moving forward.

Why Vanya Doesn’t Fight For His Marriage With Anora

Vanya Shows He Is A Child Pretending To Be An Adult

For all that Vanya declared his love for Anora and wanting to marry her, he ran out of his mansion at the first sign of external conflict. Rather than talking things out with her, Vanya acted like a child. And in many ways, he was still a child who was not ready for a commitment as big as marriage. Vanya was very young, rich, and deeply privileged. When he married Anora, it was, in part, a defiance of his parents’ control. Vanya was convinced he could do what he wanted without their say — until he couldn’t.

Because the reality was that Vanya was still living in the shadow of his parents. He was not independent; he didn’t have his own money or a job. Vanya didn’t fight for his marriage with Anora because he ultimately knew it wouldn’t last. It was only a matter of time before his parents found out and Vanya knew that. He was never going to be as serious as she wanted him to be about their relationship. He was still too scared of his parents to break away from them and stand up for what he wanted.

To Vanya, getting married to Anora was akin to a game — he was heavily invested in their relationship and the happiness it brought him for a while before losing interest in it and moving on to something else. Vanya pushing back against his parents’ wishes would have lost him his privilege, status, and money, which was more important to him than being with Anora. To him, Anora was dispensable in comparison to the life he led. Vanya was simply a visitor pᴀssing through and Anora was collateral in his bid to have fun.

The Real Meaning Of Anora

Anora Is A Subversive Take On The Cinderella Story

Anora unboxes the mistreatment of a woman, specifically a woman who is a stripper, by the rich and powerful. Vanya makes promises he can’t keep throughout the film, and Anora suffers the consequences of his indifference. Anora is discarded and overlooked by Vanya’s parents because of her status and job, and the potential Oscar contender delves into the repercussions of rash decisions and how big a role wealth and influence can affect someone like Anora who doesn’t have these things at all.

Vanya’s family toyed with her and her emotions before throwing her out like she was beneath them. Anora is truthful in its handling of the тιтle character’s situation, and the film’s themes underscore the imbalance of power in Anora and Vanya’s marriage. The film is an astute exploration of the various forms of control — whether it’s parental, money and power-related, or patriarchal — and how it’s used to uphold status and reputation. Anora gets the short end of the stick no matter what, and the film’s enduring message is just how unfair and terrible that is.

How The Anora Ending Was Received

Anora Was Hailed As One Of The Best Movie Endings Of 2024

While Anora has been praised for many aspects, from the performances to the mad-dash pace of the story, the ending has been highlighted by many critics as the true strength of the movie. It has been included on various lists of the best movie endings of 2024, giving a fitting conclusion to the story as well as leaving the audience with something to think about. This is evident given how varied the interpretations of the ending have been.

Collider included it in its list of the best movie endings of the last five years, pointing to how Yuri’s tenderness towards Anora and her reaction speaks volumes about the тιтular character. After her relationship with Vanya proved not to be love, having Yuri show some warmness towards her fills Anora with confusion and heartbreak as her tough exterior breaks:

She comes face to face with the first man she’s met who doesn’t see her as an object, who doesn’t give love to her transactionally, and she can’t help but break down in tears.

While IndieWire also praises the ending, they see in its ambiguity a chance for happiness. Though Anora is back where she started and ends the movie sobbing, she has shown strength and determination that earned her a moment of vulnerability while also suggesting she will overcome this:

We don’t see Ani’s face in the final sH๏τ, leaving her future more ambiguous and for audiences to potentially hope for a romance between Ani and Igor long after the credits. Maybe, but we know at least Ani will be fine.

Digital Spy also found it to be a perfect ending, pointing to the momentum of the rest of Anora perfectly setting the audience up for a more intimate and emotional ending:

Instead, after two hours of propulsive momentum, the fact of this melancholy and somewhat underwhelming coda gives us a crack of insight into Ani’s own feelings of having such monumental hopes dashed.