The Wonder

➤ Rated R
➤ Netflix

Nineteenth-century Ireland was wracked by famine and poverty. A girl who walked so closely with God that she did not need to eat would truly be a miracle. But is it God’s work, or is something else the cause of “the Wonder” of the Irish Midlands?

To find out, the local townspeople in the new Netflix film The Wonder hire a nun and a nurse to observe young Anna O’Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy), who reportedly has not eaten for four months. Nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) travels from England for the job: Her stoic manners conceal the hurt she has borne after her own struggles and loss. Taking 12-hour shifts, the nurse and the nun do not let Anna out of their sight.

But all is not as it seems. Anna is plagued not by hunger but by guilt, and hopes to atone for her transgressions and those of others near her through a constant vigil of prayer and devotion. But how is she staying alive without any sustenance beyond water?

Nurse Lib is determined to get to the heart of the mystery, and to keep Anna alive. Reporter William Byrne (Tom Burke) ­covers the story for the London papers, and his skepticism is tinged with disdain for the faithful.

The Wonder explores themes of miracles, guilt, sin, and hypocrisy. It is beautifully filmed, with the bleak Irish landscape lit up by the contrasting color of the out-of-town visitors, perhaps indicating which side director Sebastián Lelio believes is right. The film is not for children: It deals with mature themes and contains a sex scene, though there is no nudity.

Viewers may be slightly ­disappointed in the final scenes, which bring a somewhat improbable resolution to the whole affair, very much in line with a Hollywood ending.