If you‘re still skeptical about Florence Pugh’s acting abilities then please watch Sebastien Lelio’s “The Wonder,” set for release next Friday via Netflix.
It's too bad that the film itself, which sometimes feels slight and uninvolving, can’t match Pugh’s artistry. It’s a performance that needs to be seen in a movie that you quickly forget once the lights turn back on in the theatre.
Set in The Irish Midlands of 1862, the story follows a an 11-year-old girl (Kíla Lord Cassidy) who has stopped eating for God, but remains miraculously alive and well. It’s been four months without food (water is allowed), and suspicions arise from big city newspapers that this small-town tale might be a hoax.
After much pressure, English nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) is hired by the tiny village to observe young Anna. She does the morning and afternoon shifts, never leaving the girl in sight, and a local nun takes over for graveyard hours.
Meanwhile, God-fearing Tourists keep showing up at this girl’s home to witness the miracle, as they believe she is a saint. Lib's skeptical, as she should be, but can’t seem to find the science-backed answers. She’s a woman of little faith and starts invading Anna’s every moves until she starts to theorize.
In adapting Emma Donoghue’s novel, co-written by the author herself, Lelio tries to make this rather dry affair feel and look cinematic. Some of the shots he and ‘Power of the Dog’ DP Ari Wegner concoct here are breathtaking to behold. From picturesque views of the Irish skies to naturally lit indoor settings, it’s a beautiful film look at.
Pugh commands the screen as a tough as nails woman with individuality in a society that lacks the clarity to believe her. And yet, Lelio never goes political, there’s no misogynist behavior towards her, but she’s also surrounded by rampant believers who think her presence is futile.
Dealing with issues of faith and science, and not necessarily giving us any easy answers as much as just trusting the audience to come up with their own, Lelio directs his film like gothic horror. However, don’t expect jump scares or horror tropes here. This is very much a dramatic treatise on the act of disbelieving.
The heads of the town don’t question, they just believe and in an age where we, ourselves, cannot always fully trust what’s being dictated to us by the powers-that-be, the film gives off an immensely powerful message, until it falls apart in its last stretch, opting for the obvious instead of the inexplicable.
For most of the film Lelio lays claim that being a skeptic is part of human nature, and that one should never lose sight of their own skepticism, otherwise they could easily be taken advantage of. [B/B-]