The Wonder (2022)
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An English nurse is sent to a rural Irish village to observe a young girl who claims to survive miraculously without eating.
The story
In 1862, Elizabeth "Lib" Wright, an English nurse who served in the Crimean War, is sent to a rural village in Ireland. Her task is to closely watch Anna O'Donnell, a young girl who, according to her family, has not eaten for four months. Lib is assisted by a nun, Sister Michael, and the two must report their findings independently to a council of local dignitaries. The community, still haunted by the trauma of the Great Famine, remains wary of the English nurse as Lib begins to investigate the girl's miraculous survival.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1862, Elizabeth "Lib" Wright, an English nurse who served in the Crimean War, is sent to a rural village in Ireland to observe Anna O'Donnell, a girl who has allegedly not eaten for four months. Lib meets Anna's religious family, including her mother Rosaleen and father Malachy. While Lib initially finds no evidence of deception, she eventually deduces that the family is covertly feeding Anna. Anna reveals she is fasting to free her brother's soul from God's wrath following his repeated rape of her. Lib, grieving her own child, realizes Anna will die without food. After the family refuses to stop the 'sacred' fast, Lib persuades a local journalist, William Byrne, to help her. Lib brings Anna to a holy well, where she convinces the girl she will be reborn as 'Nan'. Anna appears to die and then revives, allowing Lib to feed her. Lib then sets the house on fire to destroy evidence and tells the council Anna died of natural causes. Finally, Lib, William, and the recovered Nan set sail for Sydney, posing as a family named Cheshire.
- First release year
- 2022
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- Ireland; United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sebastián Lelio
- Writers
- Emma Donoghue · screenplay; Sebastián Lelio · screenplay; Alice Birch · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Florence Pugh · Elizabeth "Lib" Wright; Tom Burke; Niamh Algar; Elaine Cassidy; Dermot Crowley; Brían F. O'Byrne; David Wilmot; Ruth Bradley; Caolán Byrne; Josie Walker; Ciarán Hinds; Toby Jones
- Genres
- period; psychological drama
- Themes
- religious devotion; famine trauma; prejudice; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- foreboding; dread; sumptuous
- Premise and plot tags
- psychological drama; period piece; folk horror; religious
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2016 novel by Emma Donoghue
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics who praised the production design and cast performances, particularly Pugh's. It was described as a sumptuous but slightly undercooked tale and an illuminating study of dark prejudices.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 71 · scale: 100 · review count: 37
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a novel by Emma Donoghue.; Florence Pugh was set to star in the adaptation on 28 April 2021.; Principal photography began in Ireland on 12 August 2021.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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