Having been released overseas in the summer, this dramatic comedy featuring a superb cast arrives on these shores and, while the actors add a certain gravitas to proceedings, the film’s sluggish and plodding nature can’t quite shine the light it seeks.
Set in Ireland in 1967, the film revolves around a group of working class women who all come together to make the pilgrimage to Lourdes in France, the most visited Christian destination one world and the spot where the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year old peasant girl back in the 1800s. We meet Lily (Maggie Smith) first, an elderly lady who is still mourning the loss of her son, Declan, who drowned at the age of nineteen some years before. Then there’s Eileen Dunne (Kathy Bates) and Dolly Hennessy (Agnes O’Casey), the remainder of the trio who all perform together at their local church. Dolly is much younger than the other two and is a stay at home mother to her son, Daniel (Eric Smith), who is sadly mute, much to the frustration of his father, and Dolly’s husband, George (Mark McKenna), who goes to work to bring in the household coffers to pay their way.
Related: The Miracle Club trailer
The ladies’ friend, Maureen, has recently passed leaving a deep void in their lives and it is obviously apparently that they now won’t fulfil their dream of visiting Lourdes together. When Maureen’s long-lost daughter Chrissie Ahearn (Laura Linney) returns to town after leaving in disgrace some forty or so years previous, the trio of ladies plot to take the journey to France anyway, all for their own personal reasons. However, Chrissie has ideas of her own and tags along for the trip herself along with vicar Father Dermot (Mark O’Halloran).
And so starts the story at the heart of the movie with the women leaving the men behind with all sorts of dynamics on the road journey to Lourdes along the way. The film seems to be aimed at the matinee afternoon crowd, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I’m a huge fan of that kind of thing usually, the most recent example being last week’s excellent release, The Great Escaper with Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson. This just falls way short of something like that, its 90 minute running time seeming like much longer. It all looks lovely, save from some slightly off, clearly green-screened sequences and all involved do indeed seem to be having a nice time.
The actors are as solid as you’d expect them to be with their pedigrees, and they are all as watchable as ever, which may make the entrance fee worth it. For me, the tone wasn’t quite right and there wasn’t enough there to satisfy my expectations, but for the masses, its charm and talent in front and behind the camera might just redeem it.
The Miracle Club is released in UK and Irish cinemas from 13th October, 2023.
The Miracle Club
Summary
Solid acting and a delightful nature can’t overcome this feature’s slightly plodding narrative that overstays its brief 90-minute welcome.
