A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Miracle Club” (2023).
Having watched “The Great Escaper”, my next cinema visit was to see “The Miracle Club”… in a way, “same old, same old”.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
It’s Dublin 1967 and Maureen, a local stalwart of the community, has died just prior to a church trip to Lourdes that she was organising. Maureen’s estranged daughter Chrissie (Laura Linney) returns home after many years in the US leaving her friends, Lily Fox (Maggie Smith) and Eileen Dunne (Kathy Bates), appalled. Secrets and tragedies are revealed on the trip to Lourdes.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: PG-13; (From the BBFC web site: “Infrequent implied strong language, references to abortion and suicide”).
Talent:
Starring: Maggie Smith, Laura Linney, Kathy Bates. Agnes O’Casey, Mark O’Halloran.
Directed by: Thaddeus O’Sullivan.
Written by: Jimmy Smallhorne, Timothy Prager & Joshua D. Maurer.
Twitter Handle: #TheMiracleClub.
Running Time: 1h 30m.
Faith over common sense. Lily (Maggie Smith) and Eileen (Kathy Bates). (Source: Sony Pictures International).
“The Miracle Club” Review:
Positives:
- After celebrating the late Glenda Jackson’s performance in “The Great Escaper“, here’s another old dame of the cinema – Maggie Smith – still knocking out great performances at the grand old age of 88. And the acting performances are what is worth celebrating in this film. The great Kathy Bates and Laura Linney joing Smith. Both deliver great performances here. Agnes O’Casey, as the young mother with the mute son, also impresses in her feature debut.
- Maggie Smith becomes a backing singer/dancer for “He’s so fine” in the talent contest at the church. It’s good enough reason alone to go and watch the film! It’s not something I expected to see, or indeed expect to see again!
- The cinematography (by John Conroy) delivers lush widescreen shots of Lourdes, making it look like a place worth a visit.
- There is a touching (if wholly predictable) scene in the finale of the film featuring a curly red-headed lad (who I can’t see is actually credited). You would have to have a heart of stone not to be slightly moved by it.
Negatives:
- The story is quite slight and predictable. Of animosity thawing through communication and a shared experience.
- I had a problem with the respective ages of the cast here. I’d assumed that Eileen (played by Kathy Bates, aged 75), was a younger friend of Lily (played by Maggie Smith, as above, aged 88). But it turns out that we are to believe that Eileen was the best friend (and it almost implies schoolfriend peer) of Chrissie (played by Laura Linney, aged 59). No offence to either actress, but they look to be from distinctly different generations. Perhaps this would be clearer in book form, but as a film this really threw me as a “Wait, whhha…” moment.
Spoiler… they do come back from France. Laura Linney, Maggie Smith and Niall Buggy. (Source: Sony Pictures International)
Summary Thoughts on “The Miracle Club”
This is a perfectly pleasant film to watch and will particularly appeal to older viewers looking for a gentle drama told in a linear and predictable way. It’s a tight 90 minutes long. So it appeals to those of us whose bladders have been recently damaged by 206 minutes of “Killers of the Flower Moon“! But, overall, I found this to be an unremarkable drama that will fade from my memory pretty quickly.
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Trailer for “The Miracle Club”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp3ZFdklPCk .
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