“Anora” is a romantic drama that won the Palme d’Or award during the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024.

The story, written and directed by Sean Baker, is based in New York City and tells the story of Anora, a sex worker, who meets Ivan, the immature son of a Russian oligarch.

Their initially transactional relationship grows into something deeper, and the two spontaneously get married in Las Vegas. They live in oblivion, indulging in all of the dirty pleasures of money.

When Ivan’s parents learn of the marriage via social media, they travel to New York to get the marriage annulled.

The movie was filmed in Brighton Beach and shows the Russian-speaking community not often represented in Western films. From the mid-1970s, most of the migration that happened from the Soviet Union to the U.S. went through Brighton.

As a result, the area holds strong cultural significance to many first-generation Americans whose parents are from the former Soviet Union.

The scenes were filled with recognizable and nostalgic imagery. Some shots were filmed on the boardwalk and the beach with Coney Island visible in the background.

Baker mindfully included the smallest details of the area: the grandmas in fur coats, the restaurant Tatiana, the Chase Bank that is right outside the train station, and the identical small brown brick homes on the side streets of the main avenue.

Another outstanding quality of “Anora” is the number of messages it conveys. Ivan is shown as spoiled, abandoning Anora after being threatened with blocked bank accounts by his parents. The viewers witness the shallowness that comes with materialism.

Most evidently, this movie also criticizes society’s judgmental tendencies to dehumanize sex workers. When rejecting Anora, Ivan’s strict, rich family lacks the sensitivity and ability to recognize that no matter a person’s status, all people need to be treated with kindness and regard.

“Like most of Baker’s movies, it is, at its core, about the limits of the American dream, the many invisible walls that stand in the way of fantasies about equality and opportunity and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,” The New York Times said. “This is a story of wealth, and power, and what love can and can’t overcome.”

Reviews for the film have been generally positive; the Palme d’Or is considered one of the film industry’s most prestigious awards. However, the public has mixed opinions. Some say that they found the story to be told from the ‘male gaze’ perspective. Others label the film as a ‘feminist triumph.’

Regardless, the film is thought-provoking with a female lead who presents herself as a strong and resilient woman who can stand up for herself. Aside from the tragedy and complex topics, Baker includes lots of lighthearted slapstick comedy.

The ending of the movie is mysterious and is open to interpretation. The beauty of the piece is that the power is given to the beholder. Anora has possibly found her own version of love and safety free from the web of Russian oligarchs.

“Anora” is currently playing in theaters.