A review of the recent film “The Wonder”
Set in the deeply religious rural Ireland of 1862, the wonder is that a local child called Anna O’Donnell (an impressive performance from young Kila Lord Cassidy) has apparently not eaten for four months but is still in good health. Florence Pugh is excellent as Elizabeth, an English nurse hired by a council of local dignitaries (including characters played by underused Toby Jones and Ciarán Hinds) to establish what is going on.This is a dark work, both literally and metaphorically, and moves slowly for much of the film, but there is real sense of mystery with a satisfying (if unlikely) conclusion. The film is based on a novel by Irish-Canadian Emma Donoughue, who co-wrote the script, and the director is the Chilean Sebastián Lelio.