Film of the Month: 5 stars

Sebastián Lelio’s superbly atmospheric drama focuses on a curious incident in 1860s rural Ireland. Emma Simmonds revels in yet another hypnotic performance by the peerless Florence Pugh

Opening on the bare bones of a film set before enthralling us completely in its atmosphere-drenched, 19th-century tale, The Wonder is testament to the transportive power of cinema. ‘We are nothing without stories,’ suggests the film’s narrator (Niamh Algar, who also takes on the role of farmhand Kitty), before assuring us of the complete conviction of those actors we’re about to see. It’s a disarming and daring introduction.

Holding you in its palm from start to finish, this fiercely intriguing and charmingly playful drama from Sebastián Lelio unfolds in the rain-swept, still-traumatised Irish Midlands of 1862, 13 years after the Great Famine. It’s based on the 2016 novel from Irish-Canadian writer Emma Donoghue (the Room author who co-wrote this screenplay with Alice Birch and Lelio) and sees the Chilean director of Gloria, Disobedience and A Fantastic Woman foreground the fairer sex once again.

The Wonder follows English nurse Lib Wright (an outstanding Florence Pugh), an accomplished and forthright woman of science who, despite her youth, has seen much of life, having endured personal tragedy and tended to soldiers during the Crimean War. Lib has been summoned to an Irish village by a committee of elders, including Toby Jones’ Doctor McBrearty and Ciarán Hinds’ Father Thaddeus. She’s been hired to investigate a local phenomenon: an 11-year-old girl who has stopped eating and yet remains in the rudest of health.

Along with a nun, Sister Michael (Josie Walker), Lib will take on what the committee describe as ‘The Watch’: eight-hour observational shifts over a period of two weeks to determine what’s really going on. On the 14th day, the pair will offer their testimonies separately. After being told of her duties, Lib is incredulous. ‘What kind of backwards village employs a professional nurse for something like this?’ she complains to David Wilmot’s publican Seán. ‘Prove it’s nonsense, then fuck off home,’ is his curt response.

The child at the centre of it all is Anna, played quite strikingly by newcomer Kíla Lord Cassidy (daughter of Elaine Cassidy, who appears as Anna’s religiously devout mother Rosaleen). On examination, Anna appears fine; when questioned, she tells Lib that she does not need to eat, surviving instead on ‘manna from heaven’. Despite her suspicions, Lib bonds quickly and eventually all-consumingly with Anna, finding an ally in fellow sceptic William (Tom Burke), a successful journalist originally from the area who has been sent to report on this case.

The Wonder is a remarkably engrossing piece of cinema, with a complicated, fiercely protective woman at its heart and a darkly humorous streak that adds character while offering respite from the intensity. Oscarnominated cinematographer Ari Wegner (who brought her brilliant eye to The Power Of The Dog, Zola and Lady Macbeth) imbues the rugged landscapes and sparse interiors with a rich, peaty quality and yet still manages to convey the chill of it all. Pitting maternal instinct against religious dogma, and English against Irish, The Wonder is powerfully infused with its era’s tensions.

The Wonder is in cinemas from Wednesday 2 November and on Netflix from Wednesday 16 November.