MOVIES That I Just Saw: “The Wonder.” “Being the Ricardos.” “Mob Land.”

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“The Wonder” (2022, Netflix) period psychological drama, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue. A powerful premise: In 1862, an English nurse who served in the Crimean War, is sent to a rural village in Ireland where she is tasked with closely watching a fasting girl who, according to her family, has not eaten for four months. She is to be assisted by a nun, Sister Michael, and the two are to report their findings independently to a council of local dignitaries.



       Religious faith vis a vis creed zealotry as a cultural backdrop is a historical fact that still exists and continually tackled in books. Five classics that immediately come to mind: Daniel Defoe's “A Journal of the Plague Year,” James Hogg’s “Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner,” Stella Gibbons's “Cold Comfort Farm,” Charles Dickens's “Bleak House,” and of course, Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter.”

       I haven’t read Ms Donoghue’s “The Wonder,” but it’d seem the book poses that same trajectory. Florence Pugh as Elizabeth Wright had a fine performance although not fully threshed out. Still, Ms Pugh delivered stern conviction and intimate vulnerability in Ms Wright. Kíla Lord Cassidy as Anna O'Donnell / Nan is a revelation. I expect to see her in future movies. 🎥💻📽


“Being the Ricardos” (2021, Amazon Prime) biographical drama movie, about the relationship between “I Love Lucy” stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as Ms Ball and Mr Arnaz. Include reliables J. K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, and Alia Shawkat, and we have a nice weekend watch. But although the movie, directed by the topnotch writer/director Aaron Sorkin with many awards in his illustrious portfolio, gained a number of prestigious accolades, it didn’t move me much. 



       What is new in biodramas? Nothing much, I say. Similar with a grand paella dinner on a weekend, it is so good but sometimes we long for another recipe. “Being the Ricardos” didn’t divert from what makes a good bio-flick good. That’s all. 🎥💻📽


“Mob Land” (2023, Hulu) crime thriller. Deep in the heart of Dixie, in a small town struggling with the ravages of addiction, a local sheriff tries to maintain the peace. Stars John Travolta as local sheriff Bodie Davis but the vicious heart in this little movie is Stephen Dorff as Clayton Minor, an enforcer for the New Orleans mafia. Mr Dorff is a hugely underrated actor who languishes in the periphery, reduced to accepting “day on the job” assignments. Apart from a stellar role in Season 3 of “True Detective,” we never get to see him in quality projects.



       Not that I am saying “Mob Land” is an awful gig. This small town drama is not the usual obligatory work that Nic Cage does these days although the plotline is still a cliche. Despite that, it’s worth the 111 minutes of distraction in between a ball game on ESPN. 🎥💻📽

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