The Wonder

The film repeatedly shows Anna’s body being controlled by her family, religious beliefs, and town leaders. Anna believes that starving herself can help save her dead brother, while Lib fights to give her a new life. The story makes female agency and the protection of girls central to its answer to this abuse. Lelio has described the story as a modern issue about a female body used as a political weapon, which matches the film’s focus.

The town council, doctor, priest, and parents keep a starving child inside a religious story. The men in charge dismiss Lib’s warnings even though she has medical training. The film presents inherited religious authority and strict gender roles as dangerous when they place a miracle above a child’s life. The ending leaves room for grace through Sister Michael, so the film attacks fanaticism more clearly than it rejects every form of faith.

One niche review called the film “woke-AF” and attacked its anti-religious message. That complaint connects the film’s female-resistance framing with its harsh view of religious authority. Wider news coverage and audience discussion focused on faith, pacing, and the fourth-wall device, not DEI or race and gender disputes. The evidence shows a fringe complaint rather than a broad anti-woke backlash.

Lelio’s cached creator score is 81/100 because his work often centers transgender identity and LGBTQ representation. Birch’s cached score is 67/100, and Donoghue’s is 78/100 because their work often centers feminist or queer themes. Nina Gold’s cached casting score is 45/100 because of her stated support for diversity. The cached producer scores are mostly low or moderate, so the strongest context comes from the director and writers.