The Miracle Club

Given some of the subject matter, "nice" is possibly an odd word but the movie ultimately has an uplifting ending. Plot wise you kind of see it all coming but Maggie Smith, Laura Linney and Kathy Bates and one of the lead actresses from series Say Nothing make it an enjoyable watch.

It is a little odd that Linney doesn't try to even effect a hint of an Irish accent but they're all good actresses. The rest of the cast is slightly less known In scale, the story is pretty small/simple but it works and tells a story about miracles in that occur in ways and places people don't expect.

Forgiveness is a huge part of the story here as well. All the actresses play their parts well and it's comforting to watch them do it.

In the end it's a warm tale. It won't change your life in any significant way but it makes for a "comforting" watch From a technical perspective the visuals, cinematography and direction are ok but not amazing.

Watching this after the passing of Maggie Smith adds an extra level of emotion to the film. I have loved Laura Linney ever since Love Actually and I'm glad she was in this film with the incomparable Maggie Smith. Kathy Bates is another powerhouse actress that I adore. These three actresses carried the film. I also haven't seen such an adorable actor with Eric D. Smith since Roman Griffin Davis in Jojo Rabbit. It was a touching film and had that element of hope. I wouldn't say it was a comfort movie that I could watch over and over again but it did make me smile and tear up. The film seemed up my alley and I enjoyed it.

I wasn't sure what to expect from The Miracle Club, I just knew with a cast that included Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linley that I had to watch it. I was not disappointed in the slightest.

It is a lovely story about a friendship, past mistakes, love and forgiveness.

The casting is brilliant and as usual Smith, Bates and Linley give magnificent performances.

It tells the story of woman who returns to her home village after 40 years away, to attend the funeral of her mother whom she has not seen in all those years. She is met with hostility from her old friend and the mother of her long lost love.

It culminates with them taking a trip to Lourdes all in search of their own miracle.

I really feel honoured to have watched this film and really did not want it to end.

Director Thaddeus O'Sullivan has fashioned a small-scale Irish film that feels as familiar as an old shoe. This 2023 dramedy marks Maggie Smith's last film, and while the role doesn't take much advantage of her sharp-witted feisty persona, her poignant work here serves as a fitting reminder of her enduring legacy. Working alongside Kathy Bates and Laura Linney, she plays Lily, a small town wife and mother living outside of Dublin and still mourning the death of her son forty years earlier. Bates plays her best friend Eileen, herself a wife and mother of six, who fears she may have breast cancer, while Linney plays Chrissie, the estranged Boston-based daughter of another close friend who just passed away. Lily and Eileen, along with their much younger friend Dolly and her inexplicably mute son, convince the local priest to fund a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, as they seek miracles for their medical ailments and long-held crises in conscience. Because the movie was in turnaround for over twenty years, the actors are far too old for their chronological roles, but it's the kind of pixilated movie where age doesn't matter. That's due to the expectedly fine work from Smith, Bates, and Linney, as well as Agnes O'Casey charming as Dolly, the only one of the four leads with a real Irish brogue. Stephen Rea shows up in two brief scenes as Eileen's curmudgeonly husband.

The Miracle Club is a small movie about several ladies from Ireland set during the 1960's who win a pilgrimage trip to Lourdes in France. Maggie Grace, Kathy Bates, and Agnes O'Casey have great chemistry to come together in order to win a trip of a lifetime meanwhile Laura Linney returns home to attend her mother's funeral. Each of the ladies are looking for a miracle to either cure a physical ailment or to help with their emotional breakdown. These academy award nominated and winning actors were enjoyable to watch, the movie was well received with great direction and cinematography. Stephen Rea also joined the cast as Gates no good husband who took his wife for granted. I would definitely recommend this Thaddeus O'Sullivan film for the whole family to enjoy.