The Miracle Club Movie Review

Set in Dublin in 1967, “The Miracle Club” is about the tale of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey), who live in a somewhat troubled town of Ballygar, outside of Dublin, Ireland. Agnes O’Casey holds her own with who could be considered some of the best actresses of our time. You’d think they, indeed were close with one another.

Before I get going, let me add wherever you watch this, make sure the volume is up, or there are subtitles because the accents are thick and often hard to understand.

That said, the church members are having a talent show at the church to win passes to Lourdes, a place they believe is where the Virgin Mary visited. Everyone who goes there touches the walls and believes they’ll have a miracle happen in their lives.

Their friend Maureen has just passed away, and the women are distraught but believe that Maureen would still want them to go to Lourdes.

When the film opens, we see that Lily mourns the loss of her son. This comes more into play when Chrissie (Linney) flies in from America. Apparently, she left in the middle of a relationship with Lily’s son, leaving him panic-stricken. So, imagine the surprise on the faces of the group, who weren’t expecting to see Chrissie. They aren’t particularly friendly toward her; in fact, they’re downright nasty… especially Lily.

Then again, some issues women have, they must decide on their own. Abortion is touched upon and, if accurate, is what caused Lily and her son their grief. As I said before, it’s not really discussed. What little is said about it is detestable and coldhearted.

Chrissie has been gone for forty years and forty years of anger and guilt have built up into something it shouldn’t have. Maureen’s friends assumed Chrissie wouldn’t come to her mother’s funeral, expecting her not to care enough to show. Chrissie’s mother felt the same way, writing a letter for them to give to her if she made her way back for some reason. The letter is given and read.

The women do take the trip to Lourdes. Chrissie is their fourth, where it was initially going to be Maureen taking the fourth seat. Regardless, the trip ends up being quite different from what they had expected. Eileen is incredibly disappointed, telling the priest she believes it’s all a gimmick to separate fools from the cash.

On their way back, there is some change of views and truly meaningful, deeply emotional conversations that’ll touch your heart.

With a cast like this delivering the lines, how could the movie not be ultimately touching, which it is. You’ll find the score sublime. Sometimes, you’ll find the movie slow, giving the filmmakers ample time to fill in those gaps with the men in these people’s lives. I recommend “The Miracle Club,” but only on cable, especially if you have girlfriends with whom to sit and watch it. This could make all the difference in your level of enjoyment.