The Wonder Review: Florence Pugh Captivates In a Period Drama Filled With Big Ideas
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The post The Wonder Review: Florence Pugh Captivates In a Period Drama Filled With Big Ideas appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: We are nothing without stories, and the characters in Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder strongly believe in their stories. That’s the message of the film, and it’s a message that the movie explicitly states to the audience right up top. (That message is also conveyed via an unorthodox approach, one that is clearly making A Point, though whether that Point lands is questionable.)
The Wonder’s story takes place in 1862 and follows an English nurse named Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) who is called to a small Irish village by a committee investigating a supposed miracle. The supposed miracle in question? An 11-year-old girl named Anna (Kíla Lord Cassidy) is still alive and well even though she hasn’t eaten anything except “manna from Heaven” for four months.
Lib is there along with a nun to watch Anna and make sure she doesn’t eat any food. And as Anna comes sicker and sicker, Lib works harder to find out the truth and convince the deeply devout Irish community that unless she eats, Anna is going to die.
A Smorgasbord of Metaphors: The Wonder is full of metaphors and symbols and often becomes bogged down by them. From Lib’s bright blue dress à la Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast standing out against the intentionally dim Irish countryside, to numerous characters telling Lib that “she doesn’t understand” why the religious folk around her do what they do, The Wonder has a message to tell us, darn it, and it beats that message into its audience over and over (and over again).
The film also uses rituals that different characters follow to further emphasize that what we believe is bolstered by our actions, even if those actions lead us to dark places, including death. Many — but not all — of these rituals stem from Catholicism and serve as further commentary on how organized religion can cause someone to fervently believe things that aren’t true, even if doing so harms them. It’s a message that’s clearly meant to connect to our present-day circumstances, and one that is hammered home in almost every sequence of the movie.
Pugh’s performance here is what brings The Wonder back from being too preachy to bear. Her character is an outsider in this small village and has her own personal struggles that make watching Anna’s situation even more excruciating. Pugh deftly portrays Lib’s passion, her sympathy, and her foibles with care, and you can’t help but become drawn into the story through her.
The Wonder (Netflix)
It’s Lib’s journey — her eventual willingness to accept others’ religious beliefs as “true” in order to save them — that is the backbone of the film. We are nothing without stories, in case you forgot, and Lib tries to tell a new one in an attempt to save a child she’s become attached to.
Unsurprising Until It’s Not: While the ending was different than what I was expecting (in a good way), the rest of The Wonder’s plot is rather predictable. The plot isn’t the point here, though — what matters in The Wonder is the message! The message, gosh darn it! And if that means that certain female characters are burdened with the struggles that female characters in film always seem to have, so be it.
What matters most in The Wonder is not anyone’s specific story necessarily, it’s the fact that while each of us may have different stories, we all share the need to tell them. According to the film, it is this primeval need within us to tell stories that drives every major decision that we make — we create our own reality, and if that reality conflicts with objective facts, it’s the story that comes out on top. That is the driver of humanity, and that is the danger that humanity faces when the story in question leads to tragedy.
The Verdict: The Wonder is… fine. Just fine. The movie’s exploration of big issues like religion, and how stories are more important to us than the reality we live in, will cause many to think and reflect, and that’s not a bad thing. Without getting into spoilers, the ending’s expected turn twists a tale that could be a dirge into one that inspires hope.
Pugh’s heartrending performance is another highlight of the film, and setting the movie in the Irish Midlands only 13 years after the Great Famine also gave the story more texture and additional layers to explore via other characters, such as the newspaperman, Will (Tom Burke), who strikes up an ever-changing relationship with Lib. The movie has things to say, things we should all think about. And why not think about those things while watching Pugh give an excellent performance?
Where to Watch: The Wonder premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, November 16th.
Trailer:
The Wonder Review: Florence Pugh Captivates In a Period Drama Filled With Big Ideas
Vanessa Armstrong
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