Set in 1967, The Miracle Club follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) of hard-knock Ballygar, outside Dublin, who win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year. When their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her mother’s funeral, she decides to take her mother’s place on the trip. Old wounds are reopened, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they search for a miracle.
Director Thaddeus O’Sullivan tells a very personal story of the Ireland he left behind, starring a stunning ensemble that includes Laura Linney (You Can Count on Me, Ozark, The Squid and the Whale, HBO’s John Adams), Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes, About Schmidt), Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, Michael Collins, Utopia), Agnes O’Casey (Ridley Road), and the peerless Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).
“This is a story of forgiveness and understanding, two qualities that seem to be scarce these days. Any movie that encourages people to be kinder to one another gets my vote.” — Leonard Maltin, leonardmaltin.com
“What is transformative in The Miracle Club is the complete shift in tone, and arrival of dramatic gravity, at the moment Linney enters the movie.” — John Anderson, America Magazine
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Joshua D. Maurer, Timothy Prager, Jimmy Smallhorne
Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith
Ireland, United Kingdom