An Anora Easter Egg Answers Our Questions About Red Rocket

Sean Baker's Anora is not just an outstanding film on its own merits, but also contains a reference to Baker's previous film — a Red Rocket easter egg that reveals the fate of Strawberry, the aspiring adult film actress played by Suzanna Son.

Anora is the story of Ani, full name Anora, a stripper played by Mikey Madison who agrees to be the paid girlfriend of Russian rich kid Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn). The film, winner of the Palme d'Or at the latest Cannes Film Festival, is up for five Golden Globes, including best musical or comedy, and looks like a frontrunner in many Oscar categories.

Easter eggs — blink-and-you'll-miss-them, semi-hidden messages to fans — tend to be the domain of genre movies and superhero blockbusters. They're often a cute way for filmmakers to tell fans they love the IP too, or to preview upcoming sequels.

They're far less common in indie dramas and especially in Oscar-calibre productions like Anora. But it turns out that Sean Baker likes them.

"I do have Easter eggs throughout all my movies that kind of pull them together," he told Slashfilm in October, before mentioning the Red Rocket easter egg in Anora, and adding: "I won't tell you what it is, but it's there."

Now that Anora is out on video on demand, fans can pause and delight in the Anora easter egg that ties the film to Baker's 2021's Red Rocket.

Background on the Anora Easter Egg

Red Rocket, which along with Anora is one of our favorite films of this decade, is the story of Mikey Saber (Simon Rex), a washed-up adult film star who thinks he can squirm his way back into the industry by introducing 17-year-old donut shop employee Strawberry to the adult world. (Son was in her mid-20s when she starred in the film.)

Also Read: Red Rocket Director Sean Baker and Star Simon Rex on How to Make a Movie Feel Alive

Anora spoilers and about Red Rocket spoilers follow.

Red Rocket ends on an ambiguous note: Most of Mikey's plans have collapsed, but when he races to Strawberry's home, he sees her on her mother's doorstep, posing provocatively in a red swimsuit.

She seems so enthusiastic, in fact, that we wonder if the moment is just Mikey's fantasy.

Anora strongly suggests that whether or not she went with Mikey, Strawberry did, in fact, break into adult films — and that she became very successful within three years.

Red Rocket takes place in 2016, as indicated by the references throughout the film to that year's election. And Baker has told MovieMaker that Anora takes place in 2019, though he wanted it to feel like it was shot in 1974.

Where to Find the Red Rocket Easter Egg in Anora

During the second excursion in Anora to Las Vegas, as Anora, Ivan, and others drive down a road, you may notice a young redheaded woman on a billboard to the left of the screen.

Cinematographer Drew Daniels holds the shot just long enough for us to recognize Strawberry, and to catch the words "STRAWBERRY STARLET OF THE YEAR LIVE ON STAGE JANUARY 10-26."

Though we only see Strawberry from her shoulders up, they're bare, hinting — this is Las Vegas, after all — about what she might be doing live on stage.

She's made it, in other words. Like many an adult film star, she's supplementing her income by dancing in Vegas — and perhaps other places as well.

Strawberry has become, at the end of her arc, a famous adult actress — and billboard-level stripper. There's an interesting parallel with Ani, who starts Anora as a fairly anonymous stripper, briefly enjoys a Cinderella marriage, and ends up, at the end of the film, with a very nice ring and $25,000, but by no means set for life.

Does Ani reach Strawberry's level of success? Maybe we'll find out in the next Sean Baker movie. Look out for Easter eggs.

Main image: Mikey Madison in Anora, courtesy of NEON, left, and Suzanna Son in Red Rocket, courtesy of A24.

Anora is now available on video on demand.