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Anora’s Ending Is No Fairy Tale
Are we seeing a rapturous consummation of two people’s growing feelings for each other, or a bittersweet commiseration?
The contrast between these bookends is stark: Whereas Anora opens with pulsing light, throbbing music, and simulated erotic bliss, it closes with dreary snowfall, the rhythmic whir of windshield wipers, and a moment of unsimulated carnal connection much more desperate than joyful. The assault isn’t explicitly sexual in nature, or even sadistic in intent, but it’s still an upsetting abuse of power, made all the more queasy for how Igor pinning Ani to his body perversely mimics the physical intimacy of a lap dance. Baker goes out of his way to distinguish Igor from Vanya, temperamentally, physically, and economically: The polar opposite of a scrawny, exuberant rich kid, the former is a quiet working-class guy (Ani calls him a gopnik, derogatory Russian slang that’s roughly equivalent to “thug”) who keeps his cucumber cool throughout.
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