The plot follows the abnormal life of 11-year-old Anna O’Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy) who has been fasting for the past 4 months, supposedly living off “manna from heaven” and God’s blessing. She is soon turned into a tourist attraction and more or less an object, as the other characters try to use her to prove their own fantasies and ideals. As we soon found out, everything is not as it seems as we delve into the bleak Irish scene of 1862 and follow English nurse Elizabeth ‘Lib’ Wright (Florence Pugh) on her journey to discover the unsettling truth. While being based on Emma Donoghue’s novel, award-winning director Sebastián Lelio has produced a film full to the brim with astonishing talent from both the fresh and familiar, with Kíla Lord Cassidy taking centre stage along with Florence Pugh and Tom Burke.
With an unusual beginning, we were presented with a moral message about how we create stories to explain the unknown, with the camera panning across various set pieces of the film’s backstage. While being slightly hard to grasp at times, the fourth wall is frequently broken reminding us how the imaginary shapes the reality. It is clear that fact and fiction can become hard to separate, with clouded judgment potentially leading to dangerous consequences, which are explored later on in the film. Although not being your typical thriller mystery movie, The Wonder does provide an element of chilling oppression and manipulation, with the scenery of the harsh Irish setting and dulled colour palette adding to a hostile atmosphere.
Although I really enjoyed the movie overall, with its unique story-line and amazing acting shining through, there are a couple points that I feel lacked the tingles of a perfect thriller. Although I feel the audience was meant to feel a level of detachment to begin with, there was a lack of depth within some characters, resulting in an absence of connection. We were kept as outsiders looking in with little emotional investment. We do get to see, however, the demons that Lib faces behind closed doors, with distressing scenes of addiction and grief strengthening Florence’s role.
After Lib eventually solves the mystery, it seems to end the search for answers on a bit of a flat note, with the audience perhaps expecting a more complex explanation to such a unique narrative. Of course you cannot dismiss the sorrows that are uncovered over the course of the film, with each character experiencing different stages of grief and having their fair share of heartache. Overall, I would definitely recommend it to others due to its distinctiveness; however, it just needs a little sharpening in a couple of areas to make it a true masterpiece.