The Wonder

THE WONDER, directed by Sebastián Leliois, is an intriguing exploration of the relationship between science and religion set in the Irish Midlands of the 1800s. The story begins when English nurse Lib Wright (Francis Pugh) is brought to a small village to investigate the case of Anna O'Donnell (Kila Lord Cassidy), an 11-year-old girl who has stopped eating but remains inexplicably alive and well.

As news of Anna's condition spreads, tourists and pilgrims begin flocking to the village in the hopes of witnessing a miracle. But as Lib begins to suspect that there may be more to Anna's story than meets the eye, she finds herself caught in a battle between those who believe in the power of faith and those who put their trust in science.

Florence Pugh is excellent as Lib, infusing the character with a sense of both determination and vulnerability. Her scenes with Cassidy are particularly strong, as the two actresses play off each other perfectly. The cinematography is beautiful, and the film's exploration of its themes is thought-provoking. The script is intelligent and well-written, and the film's overall atmosphere is incredibly effective.

THE WONDER is a slow-burn film about the power of belief, and how it can sometimes lead us down a path of self-destruction and is sure to leave you guessing until the very end with a lot to talk about after the credits have finished rolling.

Wow, people really can make themselves believe anything, can't they?

Florence Pugh gives a characteristically prickly performance as an English nurse who's sent to a small Irish village to observe the phenomena of a girl who has survived for four months without food and report her findings back to the town council. The girl's family and many townsfolk believe it's divine intervention. Others, Pugh's character among them, are skeptical and think they're being hosed. It's a classic confrontation between science and faith, and the movie asks whether it's possible for both to exist at the same time.

I really dug this movie's tone and mood. It plays almost like a horror film at times, and when the secret behind the girl's condition emerges, it certainly is horrible enough.

Grade: A-

A quiet, wonderful film that sucks you in. Great script based on Emma Donaghue's work.

The viewer gets involved in what's transpiring on screen. He/she waits for the ending with great anticipation not knowing exactly how it will unfold which makes this an engaging psychological thriller as well. It's directed excellently by Sebastian Lelio.

The story takes place about a decade after the Great Famine in Ireland where its population was decimated. This context informs the story and it gives the film its milieu: a people emerging from untold suffering. And it explains the religious fervor of the survivors.

One can understand the motivation of the O'Donnell family for their actions. All the actors brilliantly give flesh to the urgency of their situation. In particular, Florence Pugh gives a tour de force performance. Such a nuanced performance. If you admired her in "Don't Worry Darling," she's far better here. And Kila Lord Cassidy is unequivocally talented for such a young girl. Perhaps, the fact that the actor who plays Rosaleen is her mother in real life inspired her to turn in a riveting performance as Ann.

One draws many lessons here. Can faith misguide a person in an extreme way?

It's a well-rehearsed truism to say that the act of observing a thing changes the object of the object being observed. That's just one of the weighty questions at the heart of this meditative historical drama, one that's also concerned with the interaction of science and faith, free will, when or if to stage an intervention with people bent on self-destructive paths, and the sometimes overwhelming power of guilt - both false guilt and that which has more reason.

To call it patient - despite its under 2-hour running time - is an understatement, but it's never dull thanks in large part to the haunting score and soundscape, and Florence Pugh's truly remarkable central performance (she seems to be packing a few of those into her still young career). A strange and potentially alienating device opens the film, drawing attention to its artificiality, but in doing so it highlights that question of observation changing the observed and encouraging us to do what we're told the characters are doing - believing their own stories as we experience them.

There's a thesis to be written here on the film's theological allusions, one I won't attempt to start here. But it has caused me to reflect on my own experience of over twenty years as an ordained Anglican (i.e. Episcopal) priest. I've seen many people do a wide variety of things in that time, things done in the name of their faith, for reasons of guilt or redemption, that are destructive to themselves or those around them. I've even, sadly, met and listened to people who have been forced to experience precisely the horrific thing, the hidden secret of the past on which the plot turns. If it seems too awful to be true, I can assure you it isn't - for all this film's deliberate artifice, it's a deeply truthful one.

Dealing with almost as many fundamental questions as you might care to bring to it, this is a weighty, serious, but still moving film that's carried by Pugh's brilliance and the production's patient tone. You will likely think on it for days.

A committed, immersive performance by young newcomer Kíla Lord Cassidy spearheads this period mystery set in rural Ireland in the 19th century, where an 11-year-old girl in a highly religious family has been fasting for four months - seemingly without any physical repercussions. Florence Pugh is the young nurse sent to observe the girl - and solve the puzzle for us, of course. Although Pugh's performance comes off as anachronistic at times and the film drags in an uneventful middle section which seems to have little other purpose than to fill out the running time, the mystery itself is clever and incorporates enough historical, religious and sociocultural aspects to make this weighty and effective. And whenever you start doubting the story's potential for veracity, Cassidy's authentic performance sucks you back into this bygone world of repressed guilt, shame and emotions.