So this is a movie by the director of the excellent Gloria and stars the also-excellent Florence Pugh.

It’s a historical mystery of sorts in 19th-century Ireland, where a young nurse is summoned by town elders to keep watch over a little girl who says she hasn’t eaten any food in four months and is being nourished by manna from heaven. And so there’s the question of, is this a miracle, is it a medical wonder, what’s really going on here? And then, when Pugh finally does understand the deal, there’s the harder question of what good it does to answer that question, and what’s the use of the truth anyway?

(The thematic elements are super-foregrounded by some tbh unnecessary fourth-wall-breaking bits where a narrator or character directly addresses the viewer to remind them that this is a movie about the stories people tell themselves. I think the movie would be better if those bits were cut out, because like: we get it, okay?)

I feel like historical movies have levelled up aesthetically lately, because this is another one with gorgeous cinematography — wintry, barren landscapes and shadowy, fire-lit interiors that just about project intensity onto everyone’s faces. Combine that with a tense, spare, modernist soundtrack that frequently feels like it’s on the verge of turning into a horror movie, and it’s arresting.

The story is, at its core, a bit melodramatic, but Pugh’s very grounded performance pulls it back from getting too silly. I think the story is a bit too slight to be really top-notch great, but it’s definitely very good. Recommended.