The Wonder
2022
***
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Cast: Florence Pugh, Tom Burke, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Dermot Crowley, Brían F. O'Byrne, David Wilmot, Ruth Bradley, Caolán Byrne, Josie Walker, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones, Kíla Lord Cassidy
In 1862, an English nurse travels to remote Ireland to examine and observe a fasting girl, who has allegedly not eaten for four months. Sebastián Lelio begins and ends his period film on a sound stage to show that this story is all fiction. This framing device is baffling, pointless, and pretentious. However, for most of the running time this is a well-acted and beautifully shot but incredibly slow-paced drama, which is gripping but not entirely believable. Based on Emma Donoghue's 2016 novel
