THE WONDER

Set in Ireland, 1862, English nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) is hired by an Irish village to watch and observe 11-year-old Anna O'Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy), who has been fasting without food for 4 months. Amazed that she's still alive, locals come to visit the girl and hold her in esteem as a miracle from God. Nurse Lib and Sister Michael (Josie Walker) rotate their watches over young Anna and are requested by the village elders who hired them, to offer their own and separate observations of Anna. Truth be told, you're invested in this story to see if the girl is faking it or not and that's a lot of what this film is based upon. However, and without spoiling anything, the ending left me dissatisfied and angry at their poking fun of religion. It seems in today's Hollywood you can love anyone or anything except God and country. Furthermore, I'm a big Florence Pugh fan but even her performance is relegated as forgettable as I clearly understand why this went straight to Netflix and opted out of a theatrical release. The trailer does its job to pique your curiosity, but the film sadly doesn't deliver on the goods. 5.5/10