Common Thread

There’s a certain type of movie that is popular with moms and grandmas, nice to watch on a rainy day, and easy to indulge in without having to think too hard. The Miracle Club, directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, certainly fits into this category. However, the quality of this type of movie varies widely, and this entry into the genre is a bit of a disappointment, unfortunately.

The film opens in 1967 in Dublin, Ireland, upon a group of Catholic women who are very excited to win the chance to go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. Friends Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) each have a miracle that they’re hoping could be granted if given the chance to go on the trip. Particularly touching is Dolly’s wish for her young son to learn to speak. The women aren’t deterred by their husbands’ disapproval of their travel plans.

What does give them pause is the sudden appearance of their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney), who has been living in the United States for forty years. She was once involved with Maggie’s son and is back in town for her mother’s funeral. There’s bad blood between her and the other women, so her using her mother’s ticket to go to Lourdes is not a welcome change.

As the women seek miracles in France and discover that Loudes might not live up to their idea of it, they also must finally process traumas that took place many decades earlier. What exactly occurred is kept secret from the audience for most of the film to the point that it becomes frustrating.

The film’s greatest weakness is its script by Jimmy Smallhorne, Timothy Prager, and Joshua D. Mauer. At times, it’s sappy and overdramatic but also falls short of being as transcendent as the film needed it to be. It approaches topics of abortion and unwed motherhood in Ireland in the early to mid-twentieth century, but falls short of making any truly meaningful commentary.

Another issue is the way that it treats its male characters, who are almost universally incompetent and ungrateful for what their wives do for them. The film frequently cuts away from the women in Lourdes to show how their husbands are struggling to care for their houses and children back in Ireland. These bits fall short of being actually funny and are too easily tied up by the men finally realizing the value of their wives when they return. I would have loved to have seen this dynamic delved into in a more thoughtful manner if the writers wanted to spend time on it.

The film is kept afloat by commendable performances from its whole female cast, particularly Linney and Smith. However, they can’t quite save the uninspired feel of the film itself. The Miracle Club seems to be begging to make a statement about women’s roles, friendship, or miracles but it never quite comes around to saying anything.

The Miracle Club premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this summer and is being released in the United States on July 14 before a UK release in the autumn. It’s pretty much exactly what you would expect from reading a description of this film or seeing the trailer; there’s nothing remarkable, but it’s not the worst way to spend 90 minutes.