Spiritual Elasticity vs. Religious Fanaticism in THE WONDER, SEBASTIÁ N LELIO, TIFF 2022

Based on the novel by Emma Donoghue and directed by Sebastián Lelio, The Wonder stars Florence Pugh as a nurse in 19thcentury Ireland hired to investigate the case of a child who has not eaten for four months. Chilean director Sebastián Lelio has made a significant contribution to cinema through his stories of female characters the sort of women who rarely find their lives reflected on screen notably Gloria, Gloria Bell, Disobedience, and the Oscarwinning A Fantastic Woman. His latest work, The Wonder, introduces us to yet another formidable woman and frames the film by asking the viewer to consider the power of stories those that society pushes upon us and those that we create about ourselves. Lib Wright (Florence Pugh), a veteran of Florence Nightingales Crimean campaign, arrives in the Irish Midlands hired for an unusual task: to observe an 11yearold girl named Anna ODonnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy), who has reportedly not eaten a morsel for four months. As religious tourist