‘The Wonder’ Netflix Movie Review - Can We Believe It?

The Wonder is set in 1862 and tells us about how the Irish people blame England for the famine. The narrator makes it very clear at the beginning that we are not here to judge anything and believe the story that they’re about to show. Maybe, they knew that the audience will find it hard to do so.

An English nurse, Mrs. Wright is going to Ireland to investigate Anna, the famous girl who has been on a fast for four months. She is just 11 years old and hasn’t swallowed even a grain, still, she miraculously continues to lead a happy life. Her story has been covered by many journalists so far, which has made Anna the center of attention for the nation. Some believe it’s a miracle, while others believe in science and wants to know the cause. 

Mrs. Wright and a Nun have been called upon to watch this girl and find out how this is possible. They are invited to study her by a committee that also consists of a doctor. Many people visit Anna, mainly journalists, and are curious about her state. Doubting how Anna is surviving, Mrs. Wright cuts off all her visits and isolates her to gain a better perspective. She is occasionally searching her room to find out the hidden source of nutrition. The O'Donnell family is great at keeping secrets and it wasn’t easy for the nurse to uncover those. Apart from Anna’s story, Mrs. Wright’s personal life has also been revealed. She is a widow and had a baby girl who just survived 23 days.

In my opinion, The Wonder is a film that creates too much hype at the beginning with all the eerie background music and suspense. What turns out, in the end, is that the girl was fasting for a very unbelievable reason. I’m saying so because it can’t be related in today’s time.

The girl wasn’t fasting because it was her wish, instead, she was forced to believe that this is the right thing to do. This can be figured out in the first thirty minutes of the film itself. When the audience finds out how she was being kept alive, their minds won’t believe what their ears just intercepted. Based on the book The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, The Wonder seems to be a misfit and a satire of the character of the young 11-year-old girl Anna.

The casting of the series was great, and they did their roles perfectly. Florence Pugh portrays the role of the nurse with dedication, and there isn’t a point where her intentions can be questioned. There are some scenes in this 108-minute film related to Mrs. Wright drinking syrup out of a bottle and then puncturing the tip of her finger. She drinks the drop of the blood that comes out and then goes into a euphoric state. The context behind this scene hasn’t been made clear. 

Final Score – [7/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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Publisher at Midgard Times