The Irish premiere screening of The Wonder recently took place on Wednesday, 26th of October in the Light House Cinema. The premiere screening was attended by Oscar-winning filmmaker Sebastián Lelio, Florence Pugh, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Dermot Crowley and Emma Donoghue.
The actors in attendance discussed many elements that made this a project they loved being a part of. Kíla Lord Cassidy spoke about working with the rest of the cast, “it was so much fun being able to film because everyone was such pros, they knew exactly what they needed to do.”
She went further to praise her fellow cast members and director, ” it was amazing because everyone’s so good at what they do. I mean, there was no doubt anywhere.”
Keeping it a family affair was her mother Elaine Cassidy. She couldn’t stop gushing about working with her daughter on such a film. Elaine clearly adored seeing her daughter excel at such a young age. She believed that her daughter would be perfect for the role of Anna. She also knew after working with Element before that Kila would be really taken care of during the production. And when the film premiered at the London Film Festival they both agreed, “it was the best day out, it was better than Legoland”.
Niamh Algar’s character of Kitty is a part of several fourth-wall-breaking moments in the film. She discussed what this element is within the film, “she’s this framing device that Sebastian was, was so keen on using when I first had my meeting with him, because as you said, it’s like, you have a character that is essentially letting the audience know that you’re watching the movie”.
Rounding it out was Florence Pugh. When asked about working with her young co-star she had nothing but positives to speak about the young actor. She spoke particularly on the ease of bringing those intense scenes to the screen, “I think that that whole the whole film relies on the relationship between those two characters and also the relationship between two actors you know that I have to be, at times very loving to her but I also have to be very physical to her.”
Pugh also spoke on the bonds that grew between the cast on set. She appreciated that she got to work with Kíla and her mother on set so closely. Saying, “it made everything feel very fluid and very safe.”
Synopsis of The Wonder
1862, 13 years after the Great Famine. An English Nightingale Nurse Lib Wright (Pugh) is called to the Irish Midlands. When she arrives is tasked by a devout community to conduct a 15-day examination over one of their own. Anna O’Donnell (Cassidy) is an 11-year-old girl who claims not to have eaten for four months. Apparently she is surviving miraculously on “manna from heaven”. As Anna’s health rapidly deteriorates, Lib is determined to unearth the truth, challenging the faith of a community that would prefer to stay believing.
The Wonder is a beautiful and tragic film filled with powerful performances from its entire cast. Check out our review of The Wonder.
Stay tuned to Scannain for more news, reviews and interviews.