The Wonder (2022) Plot Summary & Ending Explained

In 1862, Elizabeth "Lib" Wright (Florence Pugh), an English nurse with experience from the Crimean War, finds herself in a remote Irish village. Her mission is to observe Anna O'Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy), a girl whose family claims she has not eaten for the past four months. Lib takes residence at a local tavern run by Sean (David Wilmot) and Maggie Ryan (Ruth Bradley). A committee comprising figures like John Flynn (Brían F. O'Byrne), local doctor Dr McBrearty (Toby Jones), and Sir Otway (Dermot Crowley) has given Lib a two-week period to observe and report her findings on Anna's miraculous fasting.

Lib is instructed that Anna must not be forcibly fed, nor can her family refuse her food if she requests it. Accompanied by Sister Michael (Josie Walker), both women are expected to submit their independent reports to the local dignitaries. The shadow of the Great Famine still haunts the community, with locals harboring distrust towards the English nurse due to historical grievances.

As Lib immerses herself in Anna's life, she meets the girl's deeply devout family, including her mother Rosaleen (Elaine Cassidy), father Malachy, and sister Kitty (Niamh Algar). During a dinner gathering, Lib learns about the tragic death of Anna's elder brother from an undiagnosed ailment. Conversely, Anna presents herself in good health, claiming that she survives solely on "manna from Heaven." When Lib suggests transferring Anna to the hospital for care, Rosaleen firmly declines.

Still grappling with the pain of losing her only child, Lib relies on laudanum to find solace as she navigates her grief. Her relationship with William Byrne (Tom Burke), a local journalist whose family suffered during the famine, evolves into something more intimate. William, skeptical of Anna's fasting, believes it's a ruse and writes for the Daily Telegraph. Throughout her observations, Lib sees no signs of deception initially, as Anna is frequently engaged in prayer, fervently discussing the fate of the damned.

As Lib meticulously observes, she notices Rosaleen kissing Anna goodnight, a gesture that raises her suspicions. She theorizes that chewed food is stealthily passed to Anna, prompting her to disallow any physical contact from the family. William warns Lib that her actions may jeopardize Anna's life; if the family confesses to feeding her, they'll face severe repercussions.

Anna, when confronted, indicates that her "manna" is a divine provision and reveals the true reason behind her fast: the torment inflicted upon her by her deceased brother, which she believes led to his death. She has convinced herself that enduring this sacrifice could liberate him from eternal damnation. Separated from her family’s nurturing touch, Anna’s health deteriorates sharply.

Desperate to save Anna, Lib implores Dr McBrearty to end the observation and compel Anna to eat. He suggests that perhaps Anna has developed an extraordinary ability to convert sunlight into sustenance. Meanwhile, William’s reporting places blame on Anna’s family and the community for her plight.

Lib brings her findings to the council, asserting that Anna is being covertly fed, but they refuse to accept this evidence. Sister Michael contradicts Lib, claiming she observed no signs of Rosaleen’s interference. When the council questions Anna, she stands firm in her belief that she is solely sustained by "manna from Heaven." Knowing that without intervention, Anna will likely perish, Lib pleads with the family to take action or at least for Rosaleen to restore the kisses that Anna so desperately needs. However, Rosaleen remains steadfast in her belief that Anna’s sacred death will grant her children a place in heaven.

Desperate, Lib persuades William to aid her in a plan to save Anna. While Anna’s family attends mass, Lib secretly relocates Anna, now gravely weak, to a sacred Clootie well. She assures Anna that even if "Anna" perishes, she will be reborn as "Nan." A moment of stillness ensues as Anna appears to slip away, only to awaken revitalized enough for Lib to feed her.

In a dramatic turn, Lib returns to the O'Donnell home alone and sets it ablaze, ensuring her laudanum bottle is also destroyed. She later informs the council that Anna succumbed to natural causes and the fire was merely an accident. The committee reacts with dismay, realizing they’ve lost a potential saint. Fearing for their own culpability and lacking a body to serve as evidence, they terminate Lib’s employment without compensation.

After the incident, Sister Michael, who left mass early, shares that she glimpsed a vision of Anna riding away with an angel. She implores Lib to affirm that Anna has indeed ascended to a better realm.

Eventually, in Dublin, Lib reconnects with William and the newly revived Anna, who has now taken on the name "Nan." The trio adopts the façade of the Cheshire family as they set sail for Sydney, embarking on a new chapter of their lives.

At the end of “The Wonder,” we see that Nurse Lib Wright has taken drastic measures to free Anna from her abusive and exploitative situation. After convincing Anna that she is going to die and be reborn as Nan—an act designed to free her from the cycle of abuse and the false religiosity imposed on her—Lib runs away with Anna, performing a ritual that involves her pretending to pass out and then awakening with a new identity for Anna. She then destroys all evidence of their plans—burning her sedative and the baby booties—to erase her past memories, symbolized by fire, which in many traditions represents purification and destruction. Lib then claims that her accidental act of knocking over a lamp was the cause of the fire, and she leaves the house with Anna, now calling her Nan, to live together in London as a family unit, safe from the falsehoods and exploitation of the village.

Throughout the film, there are film set and storytelling meta-elements, such as the opening showing that the story is being shot like a movie, and the final scene revealing a modern person, Kitty O’Donnell, watching everything unfold and breaking the fourth wall. These elements suggest that “The Wonder” is also commenting on the nature of stories—how they shape our understanding and perceptions of truth. It’s implied that the story of Anna’s fasting and Lib’s intervention is as much a constructed narrative as it is a real event, emphasizing that stories, whether fictional or based on reality, serve to shed light on issues of oppression and the power of storytelling itself.