This December, Netflix will release The Wonder, a new psychological thriller directed by Sebastián Lelio and starring Florence Pugh. The Wonder, an adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel Room, is about the strange occurrence of the “Fasting Girls” in the 1800s. Poster art and new photos from the film give a glimpse of the desolate setting of the 19th-century Irish village where Pugh’s character is stationed to keep an eye on a little girl. Anna O’Donnell (Kla Lord Cassidy), played by an 11-year-old, is said to have gone months without eating but to be otherwise healthy and awake throughout the film. Even though Nurse Lib Wright (Pugh) initially believes she has been dispatched to this remote hamlet to investigate this strange ailment, as time passes and they become closer, she begins to suspect something more sinister is at play.
A calm, creeping dread lurks just beyond the edge of this riveting historical drama as it investigates the thin boundary between religious miracles and scientific truth. These preliminary shots display Lelio’s mastery of light and shadow, as well as the vastness of the Irish moors in the background. The images alone make the barren terrain an integral part of the story. Will Byrne, played by Tom Burke, may be seen in one shot carrying Anna over some hills as Lib leads the way, suggesting that this is a crucial scene. The photos, which are set against a steely grey sky, have a desolate, confining quality. Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger), Dermot Crowley (Luther), and Ciarán Hinds (Game of Thrones) are pictured in the stills as the ominous-looking Dr McBrearty, Sir Otway, and Father Thaddeus, respectively.
The pictures are especially unnerving since the young Anna’s fate appears to be in the hands of these gloomy guys, and gloomy men have a long-established reputation for being a threat to the safety of young women. The billboard highlights Pugh’s personality and her connection to her charge Anna, and some of the photographs show Pugh engaging with Lelio’s onset. Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, David Wilmot, Brian F. O’Byrne, Josie Walker, and Caolan Byrne all feature in the film. Alice Birch, who wrote the screenplay for the film Lady Macbeth in which Florence Pugh featured, reunites with Pugh for The Wonder.
Disobedience, released in 2017, was rendered all the more stressful and sad thanks to Lelio’s direction. Donoghue, along with Danny Cohen and Len Blavatnik, is an executive producer on the show. After making its debut at TIFF, you can watch The Wonder in select cinemas and on Netflix come December.