“Professor Marston” tells Wonder Woman’s real-life origin story

★★★¼ Rated R. 108 minutes.

As the movie we need right now, “Professor Marston & the Wonder Women” could not be better timed.

News reports might be awash in abuses of authority and grievous misconduct within the movie industry, but here’s a story that not only celebrates female power and openminded idealism, but embodies those values in its very warp and woof.

As its title suggests, the fact-based film tells the story of William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), the psychologist and inventor who, under the pen name Charles Moulton, created the comic book heroine Wonder Woman.

Writer-director Angela Robinson delves into the real-life inspirations behind Marston’s creation, which included: progressive politics; the psychological theories of Freud and Jung; a long-term romantic and domestic rela-

Etionship between Marston, his psychologist wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and their student Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote); and the trio’s discovery and enjoyment of the world of fetish objects and role-playing.

If that all sounds terribly edgy — maybe even a little dark — rest assured: Robinson gives “Professor Marston” the classy, highgloss sheen of a rich period piece, introducing William

Eand Elizabeth as they pursue their research at Harvard, and following them through the 1940s, when Marston introduced his feminist archetype.

“Professor Marston” could easily have been played for maximum titillation or prurient appeal. Instead, Robinson invests the film with unexpected emotion, maturity and, surprisingly, a tone of wholesome reassurance.