03/09/2025
The Psychological Weight of Trauma: A Review of Anora
Anora, the latest Oscar-winning film, is a harrowing portrayal of exploitation, trauma bonding, and the devastating impact of power imbalances. The film follows a young s*x worker who is swept into the world of Russian billionaires, only to be discarded and left at the mercy of kidnappers. Beneath its high-stakes plot is a deeply unsettling psychological journey that exposes how past trauma can shape a person’s responses to danger, captivity, and even connection.
From the very beginning, Anora exhibits signs of complex trauma, a term used to describe prolonged exposure to abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Her interactions reveal a survival-driven adaptability as she shifts her demeanor based on the needs of those around her. This is a hallmark of fawning, a trauma response in which a person appeases others to avoid harm. Her ability to read the emotional temperature of a room and adjust accordingly speaks to a lifetime of learned survival strategies.
When she is abandoned and held hostage, learned helplessness takes hold. This psychological state occurs when a person, after repeated exposure to uncontrollable harm, stops attempting to escape even when opportunities arise. She does not fight back in the ways audiences might expect, not because she is weak, but because trauma has conditioned her to believe resistance is futile. This makes the final scene so emotionally devastating.
In that moment, Anora exhibits another classic trauma response known as trauma bonding. After enduring fear, captivity, and powerlessness, she finds herself drawn, even momentarily, to one of the kidnappers who shows her a sliver of human connection. This is not love, nor is it a genuine attachment. It is a desperate attempt to find safety in the most dangerous of places, a well-documented phenomenon in survivors of prolonged abuse. When this moment of connection is shattered by reality, her outburst is not just about him. It is about every betrayal, every moment of exploitation, and the unbearable weight of being used and discarded time and time again.
From a therapeutic standpoint, Anora is a raw depiction of the long-lasting effects of relational trauma and exploitation. Many of her reactions can be understood through the lens of dissociation, a defense mechanism that allows individuals to mentally escape when physical escape is impossible. The film challenges audiences to sit with the discomfort of watching someone react in ways that do not fit the conventional narratives of survival.
For trauma survivors, healing requires a reclaiming of self through trauma-informed therapy, somatic processing, and internal safety-building. Anora’s journey is not tied up with a neat resolution, which makes it all the more haunting. Anora does not simply tell a story of captivity and escape. It forces us to reckon with the ways trauma distorts perception, attachment, and survival itself.
