A Haunting Exploration of Oppressive Faith

A grieving English nurse travels to Ireland after the Great Famine to observe a child who supposedly hasn’t eaten in months. Based on the novel by Emma Donoghue, The Wonder is a bleak and desperately haunting story of oppressive religious faith. The girl deemed a “miracle” by devout villagers is also branded a fraud by skeptical outsiders. Florence Pugh delivers a thoughtful and compassionate performance as a weary protagonist searching for the truth. She navigates a minefield of ignorant manipulation in a dreary, impoverished setting. Your heart will ache and soar as terrible secrets are finally revealed.

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Elizabeth Wright (Pugh) arrives to an 1862 Irish village. A committee of local elders, a wealthy landowner, and doctor (Toby Jones) have hired her to watch an astonishing phenomenon. Anna O’Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy) hasn’t eaten anything since her eleventh birthday four months ago. The girl shows no signs of malnutrition. Wright and a nun will sit with Anna in alternating shifts for two weeks. The goal being to uncover a hoax or confirm divine intervention. Lib, as she’s soon to be called by Anna, strongly refutes any possibility of a miracle. They do not exist.

Lib is startled by the wretched conditions of the O’Donnell family. Anna’s parents (Elaine Cassidy, Caolán Byrne) have already lost a son. Her aunt, Kitty (Niamh Algar), digs the local bogs for money. Anna receives daily visitors who bask in her presence. Lib thoroughly examines Anna. She’s quickly taken by the girl’s sweet nature and ironclad beliefs.

Will Byrne (Tom Burke) is sent by an English newspaper to report on the story. Lib learns from Kitty that he grew up there during the famine. Lib, an addict that takes laudanum to overcome her sorrow, decides to change the situation. She forbids anyone from physically touching Anna. As Anna’s health rapidly deteriorates, Lib begs the committee and her family to stop the watch. Anna will die if she doesn’t eat.

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The Wonder Begins on a Sound Stage

Oscar-winning Chilean director Sebastián Lelio (Gloria, A Fantastic Woman) is masterful from the opening frames. The Wonder begins on a sound stage. Kitty provides an accurate voice-over that this is a film depicting real events. She continues that everyone who lived it “believed” every part. The camera pans to a set with Pugh ready in costume. This frank start establishes a somber reflection. The characters cling to hope wherever they can find it. Anna represents indoctrinated teachings that a higher power guides with omniscient authority. Pain and suffering in the mortal world will be alleviated in the afterlife; unless judged a sinner then burned in eternal damnation. The girl’s motivations are understood and laid bare in a potent climax.

Lib has an existential crisis. The inability to cope with her own loss is juxtaposed against Anna’s spiraling condition. Will she let an innocent girl die to uphold the flawed morality of others? Anna, played magnificently by Cassidy, would rather waste away than disavow her family’s wishes. These scenes are striking. The Wonder brilliantly explores the depths of human willpower, strength, and our capacity for heroism in the most dire situations.

The Wonder is a production of Element Pictures, House Productions, Screen Ireland, and Access Entertainment. It is currently in limited theatrical release with a November 16th streaming premiere on Netflix.

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