Skip to main content

The Wonder (2022) Review

 


It is one thing to discuss these matters with characters on screen, but it is another to show their feelings through the visual storytelling of the film. Wegner has been such an impressive force with her compositions within the frame that everything complimented Pugh's incredible performance. It seemed as though the visuals and Leilo's direction for this piece completely overpowered the story. To see a young woman conditioned to think a certain way after a traumatic childhood event is difficult to comprehend. Her parents have attempted to help her but have turned her into this empty shell of a young girl to fit their religious narrative of heaven and hell. At the cost of a young life, an older generation must enforce their ideals upon everyone, which is even more problematic in itself. Her parents test Nurse Wright's patience throughout the film, as she pushes her scientific rationalization as to why this young girl has survived without food. 

The moments between Pugh and Lord Cassidy together in young Anna's room are possibly the best in the film because of their conversations. Nurse Wright has lost a great deal herself and questions if there even is a higher being out there. How can there be if she has lost so much around her, including herself? We see glimpses of Wright's struggle, and it forces the audience to connect the pieces as to why she is so determined to save young Anna. In return, Anna is so involved in her faith that she doesn't understand the social cues from Wright. The technical aspects of this film are what holds it together, including the chilling score by Matthew Herbert. However, the script, which is adapted by Alice Birch and Emma Donaghue (who also wrote the book) was a bit too dense. The film suffered from pacing issues and felt overly long to get to the final act. Even though the first half was set up to be a compelling narrative, it did suffer as it slowly came to its conclusion.

Review by: Amanda Guarragi  

3/5

#movies #films #moviereviews #filmreviews #1STReviews #TheWonder #TheWonderNetflix #FlorencePugh #AriWegner #MatthewHerbert #SebastianLeilo 

Popular posts from this blog

The Mandalorian Season 3 Review

  Listen, I love Star Wars. I will always love Star Wars.  The  original and prequel trilogies were a big part of my childhood, and helped shape my love of cinema. While  The   Mandalorian  isn’t among my favourites in  the  franchise, I thought it had a promising first season and a significantly stronger season two. Season three had so much potential, but a frustrating lack of focus held it back from greatness.  This show’s always had a bit of an identity crisis, but it’s never been as clear as it is here. Does it want to be a procedural-style adventure of  the  week, or tell an epic, multi-season spanning arc? Season one leaned toward  the  former, while Season two found a satisfying balance of both. Season three tries to find that balance, but  the  overarching story it wants to tell is bigger than  the  few episodes allotted to do so. There are only 8 chapters, some barely over 30 min. That’s a fair...
Read more

Boss Level Film Review

       Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation.  Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...
Read more

Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day | Review by: Stefano Bove

  Four close friends and renowned filmmakers in 1959’s Yugoslavia are out to make a feature film of the war. They have a unique perspective and are able to discuss the war as decorated war veterans. Lovro, Nenad, Stevan and Ivan use film to express themselves and criticize society but that doesn’t sit well with the Yugoslavian Communist Party. As The Party steps in to control the film for propagandistic reasons, the four filmmakers fear it may be to gain insight on their sexual orientation. Emir Hadžihafizbegović is entrusted by the head of the Communist Party to oversee the films production but is also told by the party to sabotage the film by any means necessary. Emir as well as our four filmmakers are all exceptional in this film. The dynamic between these five actors is a wave of emotions as Emir hides his true intentions and the filmmakers hide their sexual orientation from the world. The film is in a gorgeous black and white and boasts absolutely stunning cinematography from ...
Read more