The Wonder
A tale of a nurse travels to a remote Irish village to keep a watch on a young girl who has miraculously survived four months without eating. It’s a tussle between faith and logic as the incident slowly gains importance. While the church and the medical fraternity have their own ideas, Elizabeth, the nurse, does her best to kill taboos.
REVIEW: Sebastian Lelio’s , 1862 rooted novel based story has a psychological approach towards the screen symbolizing how difficult it was for women to survive in those times when they were not given equal importance and were suppressed .
Based on the era of Queen Elizabeth, where Britain just overcame the Great Famine. The film begins and ends on a novel note and pointing out spoilers is quite unfair. At no point does the film come across as anti-religion, despite taking an anti-religion stand. It’s a tough situation to navigate, an intense story where the faiths of people are challenged at great cost. The film talks about the Great Famine only in conversation, but again, Lelio impresses to praise the efforts. Amazing performances, and without a doubt, this film can easily be considered Florence Pugh’s best performance. In the role of Elizabeth, who is still grieving the death of her three-week-old baby and has no one to care for, Pugh puts on a show. Toby Jones in the role of Dr. McBrearty once again shines through. He has given a terrific performance and one only wishes he had more screen time. Kila Lord Cassidy plays the role of Anna and has delivered an extremely measured performance in a role that required her to be unsure of everything around her.
‘The Wonder’ is a cerebral film that, more than a Hollywood film, comes across as part of world cinema. While this drama may not be the perfect story, it surely succeeds in keeping you hooked with its theme and amazing performances and didn’t let you be in confusion of whether you have made a worth it investment or not. The power of ‘The Wonder’ lies in the fact that you are unable to shake off the incidents of the film long after the film has ended.