“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” So said Pope John Paul II in his thirteenth papal encyclical, fides et ratio, in which he addressed man's relationship to science and religion, to rationalism and divine worship. It is through balance, he claimed, that we as humans are able to strive for truth, asserting that faith and reason are not only compatible with one another, but that they are both fundamental to our understanding of the world around us.
These belief systems have collided with one another for hundreds, if not thousands of years, in a dispute which persists even to this day as we continue to question the meaning of our existence – are we just one component in a larger natural order, or are we at the mercy of a higher power? Do we commit ourselves to deepening our knowledge and understanding of science, or is it through blind faith that we are granted absolution and eternal life? We all choose to put our trust somewhere, and it's this theological conflict that The Wonder is so intent on exploring.
It may seem somewhat surprising then, that Chilean director Sebastián Lelio begins The Wonder with artifice, opening his period piece not in a minor settlement in the Irish Midlands of 1862, but on a soundstage in a film studio, as a narrator implores us to trust in the power of storytelling. “We are nothing without stories,” croons Niamh Algar in her fourth-wall breaking monologue, “so we invite you to believe in this one.” It's a somewhat jarring meta, a conceited gimmick used to convince us of the similarities between our own systems of faith and those that we're about to witness.
As we leave the half-constructed film set behind, The Power of the Dog cinematographer Ari Wegner strikingly captures a murky portrait of the Irish countryside, bringing the windswept landscape to life with a thrilling sense of agitation and unrest. Coupled with Matthew Herbert's trepid score, there's a real sense of tension and unease bubbling under the surface, threatening to spill over at any given point.
The Wonder is a parable based principally on the “fasting girls” trend of the Victorian era, which grabbed headlines on both sides of the Atlantic in a crazed mania of religious fervour. Eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy) is a scientific enigma – it has been four months since she has consumed any form of nourishment, and yet she remains inexplicably healthy, sustained, she claims, only by “manna from heaven.” Just over ten years on from the Great Hunger, a period of famine and mass starvation in Ireland, townsfolk are enthralled by the idea of a girl who is able to endure without sustenance.
News of this wonder has spread far and wide. In an attempt to validate her claim, a council of village elders send for English nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh), not so she can tend to Anna, but to observe her, to ascertain whether her miraculous statement has truth to it. As she becomes progressively frailer, it becomes increasingly apparent that without divine intervention, Anna's days are numbered.
Pugh, unsurprisingly, is the real wonder at play here. It's yet another star turn for the 26-year-old, who continues to consolidate her already astonishing filmography with what may well be her finest performance yet. She revels in her role as an outlier, a woman of science in an overwhelmingly pious community, a place where her rationalism clashes with religious belief. She acts as the sole voice of reason in a society willing to turn a blind eye to Anna's suffering, one which is prepared to risk the demise of a young girl in a bid to validate their own faith. Kíla Lord Cassidy also announces herself as a prospect of seemingly boundless talent. She delivers a stunning debut brimming with sorrow and splendour, managing to hold her own exceptionally well during her scenes with Pugh.
As with Gloria, A Fantastic Woman, and Disobedience, Lelio has once again demonstrated his expert approach to representing layered female characters on film. Through Lib's willingness to fight against the tide in a place so staunch in its religious conviction, The Wonder puts forth an important and timely rhetoric, delving into the inflexibility of belief systems and the complications that arise through blind faith.
The Wonder screened at BFI London Film Festival and will release on Netflix on November 4th 2022
