It's 1862. English nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) is traveling to a small Irish town. She is one of three nurses hired to watch over Anna O'Donnell in eight-hour shifts for two weeks. Supposedly, Anna has not eaten for four months. The nurses are not there to force her to eat or even convince her to eat. They are there to simply watch and make sure that she is not sneaking in food.
This is Florence Pugh in her costumed goodness. She excels in this genre. The story itself is pretty compelling although it needs a dose of mystery. The audience is never allowed to have a sense of wonder. It starts right from the opening where the movie suggests the fictionalization of people's story telling. It sets up the movie to doubt Anna's saintly premise. For that reason, I would cut out the opening. The movie needs some doubt injected into Lib's reasoned modernity. Sometimes, filmmakers try to be original. The opening is trying to say something about the stories we tell. It's more compelling to not do it in that way.
This is Florence Pugh in her costumed goodness. She excels in this genre. The story itself is pretty compelling although it needs a dose of mystery. The audience is never allowed to have a sense of wonder. It starts right from the opening where the movie suggests the fictionalization of people's story telling. It sets up the movie to doubt Anna's saintly premise. For that reason, I would cut out the opening. The movie needs some doubt injected into Lib's reasoned modernity. Sometimes, filmmakers try to be original. The opening is trying to say something about the stories we tell. It's more compelling to not do it in that way.