Wikiwand - The Wonder (film) (2024)

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Wikiwand - The Wonder (film)? ›

The Wonder is a 2022 period psychological drama film directed by Sebastián Lelio. Emma Donoghue, Lelio, and Alice Birch wrote the screenplay based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Donoghue.

The Wonder's enigmatic plot is largely inspired by a very real phenomenon that occurred in the 1800s in Ireland and the rest of the UK. The Fasting girls really did exist.

Having grown closer to Lib over the past few months, Anna eventually reveals to her that she was raped by her brother, who has since died. It's Anna's strict and conservative family who believes that she needs to fast — the sacrifice will enable her brother's soul to be sent to heaven.

Set in The Irish Midlands in 1862, the story follows a young girl who stops eating but remains miraculously alive and well. English nurse Lib Wright is brought to a tiny village to observe eleven-year old Anna O'Donnell. Tourists and pilgrims mass to witness the girl who is said to have survived without food for months.

The Wonder / Film synopsis

Once unconscious, William takes Anna to hide by a secret lake while Lib burns down Anna's home, even injuring herself to make the story more believable. After telling the council that the girl has died, Lib meets up with Will and Anna. The last scene shows Lib, Will, and Anna (now Nan) on a ship bound for Australia.

They play out in the experiences of the movie's main character, August “Auggie” Pullman, a 10-year-old boy born with a facial difference he refers to as mandibulofacial dystosis, more commonly known as Treacher Collins syndrome. It is a genetic disorder that most often affects the cheek bones, jaw, chin, and ears.

Is The Wonder based on true events? The Wonder is an invented story, but what inspired it was the very real phenomenon of 'the fasting girl,' who claimed – or was said by others – to be able to live without food.

And the reasons for this are devastating: Anna is mourning a dead brother, who she explains gave her "double love" when she was nine – the love given to a sister, and to a wife. By fasting and sacrificing herself, Anna hopes to enable his transition from purgatory to heaven rather than hell.

The last scene shows Lib, Will, and Anna (now Nan) on a ship bound for Australia. They're sitting at dinner, and Anna is slowly eating. The film then pans away from the scene to pull back to the film set, and actress Niamh Algar, no longer dressed as her character, Kitty, is standing there in all black.

The nurse takes a spoonful of the opiate laudanum in The Wonder as a coping mechanism that appears to have become an addiction.

What is the main message of the movie Wonder? ›

The message this story shows is accepting people for who they are, kindness is always needed, and anti-bullying. If you are experiencing any type of bullying, talk to your parents, friends, teacher, or school counselor. Nobody deserves to be bullied, and everyone deserves kindness.

The main plot of Wonder is that August, a ten-year-old with facial differences, goes to a traditional school for the first time in fifth grade. In school, August makes new friends, has conflicts with friends and deals with a bully. The experiences help August to see that he is capable of being independent.

A nun later tells Lib that she saw “an angel” carrying Anna away, indicating that she knows Lib's secret, and will keep it.

Born with facial differences that, up until now, have prevented him from going to a mainstream school, Auggie Pullman becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters the local fifth grade. As his family, his new classmates, and the larger community all struggle to discover their compassion and acceptance, Auggie's extraordinary journey will unite them and prove you can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

Wonder / Film synopsis

The Wonder narrates the story of a nurse who fights for her belief in science and refuses to give into the atmosphere of religious fervor of the environment in which she finds herself working. The film is a psychological period drama that was filmed in Ireland, where the story is set.

But in private, Lib conducts a somber ritualistic intake of laudanum (a painkiller mix of opium and high-proof alcohol) to manage her own grief, enacted by Pugh using only firelight to create a poignant chiaroscuro visual for these intimate moments.

Nathaniel Newman and the character in "Wonder" have similar syndromes. R.J. Palacio's 2012 book, "Wonder," tells the story of 10-year-old Auggie Pullman, a fictional boy with facial differences, and his experiences in everyday life dealing with the condition.

In The Wonder, the nurse, Lib, copes with trauma by taking laudanum, an opioid commonly prescribed during the 19th century. Lib's use of laudanum and her self-harm through pricking her finger are ways for her to process her grief and numb her emotions.

Nathaniel Newman, a 15-year-old boy who has the same Treacher Collins syndrome as the main character Auggie, has a story that's just as compelling. And he has both his mom Magda and the film's popularity — plus his own indomitable spirit — to thank for the amazing transformations in his life.

Black explained, "We liked the concept that you could play with what people think and what they're saying, or how they would like to see themselves as opposed to how the audience is seeing them." They based the show, in part, on their own childhood growing up in the suburbs.