The Miracle Club

Last updated

The Miracle Club
Miracle club poster.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Screenplay by
Story byJimmy Smallhorne
Produced by
  • Chris Curling
  • Joshua D. Maurer
  • Alixandre Witlin
Starring
CinematographyJohn Conroy
Edited byAlex Mackie
Music byEdmund Butt
Production
companies
  • Zephyr Films
  • City Films Entertainment
Distributed by Lionsgate UK
Release dates
  • 9 June 2023 (2023-06-09)(Tribeca)
  • 13 October 2023 (2023-10-13)(UK and Ireland)
Running time
90 minutes [1]
Countries
  • Ireland
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5.8 million [2] [3]

The Miracle Club is a 2023 drama film directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, based on a story by Jimmy Smallhorne. The film stars Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith, and Stephen Rea. [4] [5] [6] Its plot follows a group of working-class women from Dublin on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in France.

Contents

The Miracle Club premiered at the Tribeca Festival on 9 June 2023 and was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Lionsgate UK on 13 October 2023.

Plot

In 1967 Ireland, two elderly women, Lily and Eileen, along with a younger woman, Dolly, form a musical band called the Miracles as part of a talent show organised by the Catholic Church and win tickets to go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes for various reasons. Lily wants to go to Lourdes as part of a life-long dream, Eileen hopes that a pilgrimage would cure a lump in her breast, while Dolly believes that it would make her mute son Daniel speak. The husband of each woman is vehemently opposed to their going, but the women refuse to stay. At the last minute, they are joined by Chrissie, the estranged daughter of their recently-deceased friend Maureen and a cousin of Eileen, who has returned from Boston after 40 years to attend her mother's funeral. Chrissie is initially reluctant to join the pilgrimage as her pregnancy with Lily's now-deceased son Declan had been openly revealed by Eileen, resulting in her being banished by her community. However, Chrissie changes her mind after learning that Maureen had given her a ticket to Lourdes, hoping that she could achieve reconciliation with those she left behind.

Arriving in Lourdes, Lily and Eileen express their enduring hostility to Chrissie, who gets along with Dolly, Daniel and the parish priest, Father Dermot. However, Lily gradually softens her heart after Chrissie willingly tends to her deformed leg. At the site's baths, Eileen loses her faith after being told by staff that there are fewer miracles that have happened than what she expected, while Daniel remains mute despite coming into contact with the water and hides in the grotto, where he is comforted by Chrissie. Lily backs out after hearing the screams of those bathing in its frigid waters.

That evening, a drunk Eileen lashes out in the hotel at Chrissie for her past and accuses her of flirting with Father Dermot, whom she also calls a charlatan due to her religious disenchantment. She also reveals that Declan, who was believed to have drowned, had actually committed suicide out of despair when Lily objected to his relationship with Chrissie. Daniel comes to Chrissie and signals that his mother is in distress. As the women gather around her bedside, Dolly confesses that she had tried to abort Daniel while she was pregnant with him, and expresses her belief that his muteness is a sign of punishment from God. As Dolly is comforted by her companions, Chrissie also confesses to have aborted her unborn child with Declan while she was in Boston.

The next morning, Lily asks Chrissie to accompany her to the baths. While waiting, Lily admits to Chrissie that she had lied to Declan about the circumstances of her departure, saying she was leaving for a better life in America and didn't want to be with him, which drove Declan to suicide. She then asks and receives forgiveness from Chrissie before they both take the waters. As they head home, Eileen apologizes to Father Dermot over her drunken behavior, to which Father Dermot replies that the real purpose of the pilgrimage was to sustain one's faith even in the absence of miracles. Eileen then reconciles with Chrissie, who reassures her that her lump may not be as serious as she had feared due to the lack of major symptoms.

Arriving at home, the women are greeted by their husbands, who appreciate them more after having had to do household chores in their absence, while Daniel utters his first word "home" though no one is near to hear him. In an act of reconciliation, Lily invites Chrissie to accompany her and pay respects to Declan at the site where he died.

Cast

Production

In December 2021, the film was in pre-production, having just received additional funding from the U.K. Global Screen Fund. [7] The film was later shot in Dublin in 2022. [8]

Release

The Miracle Club premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival on 9 June 2023. [9] It was released in the United Kingdom by Lionsgate UK on 13 October 2023. [10] Sony Pictures Classics acquired the rights to the film in the United States, Latin America and select territories in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. [11] The film was released in the United States on 14 July 2023. [12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 66% of 101 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. [13] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Smith</span> English actress (born 1934)

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith is an English actress. Known for her wit in comedic roles, she has had an extensive career on stage and screen over seven decades and is one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses. She has received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award, making her one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lourdes</span> Commune in Occitania, France

Lourdes is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its center.

<i>Family Affairs</i> British soap opera

Family Affairs is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per week at 6:30pm on weekdays, followed by an omnibus edition on Sundays. The series never achieved high ratings, so it went through a number of dramatic revamps involving wholesale cast turnover. The premise of the series was also refocused from a family in a quiet suburb just outside London, to a range of different people living on a bustling outer London street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernadette Soubirous</span> French Roman Catholic saint (1844–1879)

Bernadette Soubirous, also known as Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France, and is best known for experiencing apparitions of a "young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at the nearby cave-grotto. These apparitions occurred between 11 February and 16 July 1858, and the woman who appeared to her identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Linney</span> American actress (born 1964)

Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including two Golden Globe Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards and five Tony Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Bates</span> American actress (born 1948)

Kathleen Doyle Bates is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award and two BAFTA Awards.

Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress and comedian. She appeared in sketch shows such as French and Saunders (1988–1999), played a recurring role as Magda on the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012), and performed frequent collaborations with fellow comedian Harry Enfield. From 1999 to 2001, she starred as Linda La Hughes on the BBC sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, for which she received a British Comedy Award and two BAFTA nominations.

<i>Thirteen Ghosts</i> 2001 film by Steve Beck

Thirteen Ghosts is a 2001 supernatural horror film directed by Steve Beck in his directorial debut. A remake of the 1960 film 13 Ghosts by William Castle, the film stars Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Alec Roberts, Rah Digga, and F. Murray Abraham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribeca Festival</span> Annual film festival held in New York, US

The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2002 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of Lower Manhattan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Until 2020, the festival was known as the Tribeca Film Festival.

Anna Maria Manahan was an Irish stage, film and television actress.

<i>Nanny McPhee</i> 2005 film by Kirk Jones

Nanny McPhee is a 2005 comedy drama fantasy film based on the Nurse Matilda character by Christianna Brand. It was directed by Kirk Jones, coproduced by StudioCanal, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Working Title Films, Three Strange Angels, and Nanny McPhee Productions with music by Patrick Doyle, and produced by Lindsay Doran, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner. Set in Victorian England in the 1860s, the film stars Emma Thompson as Nanny McPhee, along with Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald, Derek Jacobi, Celia Imrie, Patrick Barlow, Imelda Staunton, Thomas Sangster and Angela Lansbury.

<i>Bertie and Elizabeth</i> 2002 British TV series or programme

Bertie and Elizabeth is a 2002 television film directed by Giles Foster and produced by Carlton Television. The film explores the relationship between King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth from their first meeting to the King's death in the winter of 1952. Bertie and Elizabeth was commissioned especially for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II and was first broadcast on ITV1 on 4 June 2002, only two months after the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The role of Queen Mary was portrayed by Dame Eileen Atkins, a role she again played in season one of The Crown in 2016.

<i>The Savages</i> (film) 2007 film by Tamara Jenkins

The Savages is a 2007 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It stars Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Philip Bosco.

<i>Last Night</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by Massy Tadjedin

Last Night is a 2010 romantic drama film that was written and directed by Massy Tadjedin, her directorial debut. The film follows married couple Joanna and Michael Reed, who are tempted by different forms of infidelity when they spend a night apart following a fight. Joanna is emotionally drawn to her ex-boyfriend Alex Mann while Michael is physically attracted to his co-worker Laura Nunez. The cast includes Griffin Dunne, Daniel Eric Gold, Anson Mount, Stephanie Romanov, Scott Adsit, Justine Cotsonas, and Chriselle Almeida. Last Night was produced by Entertainment One in association with the Gaumont Film Company, and deals with questions about emotional and physical infidelity.

The Mitchell family is a fictional family in the UK soap opera EastEnders. They were first introduced in February 1990, when brothers Phil and Grant Mitchell bought the local garage, the Arches. Their sister Sam was introduced later in 1990, and their mother Peggy shortly after in 1991, before being reintroduced as a regular character in 1994, with the role recast to Barbara Windsor. Since then, the family has been significantly expanded to include both the immediate and extended families. Phil has been the longest running Mitchell on the show, and the family has expanded significantly in the years since, remaining a large presence on the square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ella Hart</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Ella Hart is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Corrinne Wicks. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 November 2010. Ella is a businesswoman who is described as "sexy and savvy". She is the ex-wife of Declan Macey and mother of Mia. Wicks was written out of Emmerdale in 2011 and departed on 25 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloë Levine</span> American actress and filmmaker

Chloë Levine is an American actress and filmmaker. Levine has appeared in as well as directed numerous films, both short and feature-length. Her most notable appearances include Innocence (2013), The Transfiguration (2016), The Defenders (2017), The Ranger (2018), Antarctica (2020), and on television in The OA (2016–2019), and Trinkets in 2020.

<i>Good Posture</i> 2019 American film

Good Posture is a 2019 American comedy-drama film written and directed by actress Dolly Wells, in her directorial debut. It stars Grace Van Patten as Lilian, a young woman who moves in with her father's friend, the famous and reclusive author Julia played by Emily Mortimer. Wells and Mortimer had previously collaborated on the British sitcom Doll & Em, which they created, co-wrote, and starred in.

References

  1. ↑ "The Miracle Club (12A)". BBFC . August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  2. ↑ "The Miracle Club (2022)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved November 10, 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. ↑ "The Miracle Club (2022)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (June 17, 2020). "Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney Join 'The Miracle Club'". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  5. ↑ Ritman, Alex (June 17, 2020). "Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Laura Linney Unite for 'The Miracle Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  6. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (December 9, 2021). "Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith Starring 'The Miracle Club' Among Nine Projects Supported by U.K. Global Screen Fund". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith Starring 'The Miracle Club' Among Nine Projects Supported by U.K. Global Screen Fund". Variety. December 9, 2021. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  8. ↑ Ravindran, Manori (September 1, 2022). "Laura Linney, Maggie Smith Make a Pilgrimage to Lourdes in 'The Miracle Club' – First Look (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  9. ↑ Goldsmith, Jill (April 18, 2023). "Tribeca Festival's 2023 Film Lineup Includes 'Maggie Moore(s)' With Tina Fey & Jon Hamm, 'First Time Female Director', Marvel's 'Stan Lee' Doc, More". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  10. ↑ Morris, Daniel (October 13, 2023). "Film Talk: Dame Maggie is leading the charge in pilgrimage pic The Miracle Club". Shropshire Star . Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  11. ↑ Ravindran, Manori (March 1, 2023). "Sony Pictures Classics Buys 'Miracle Club,' Starring Laura Linney, Maggie Smith". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  12. ↑ Grobar, Matt (May 22, 2023). "The Miracle Club Release Date, Trailer: Laura Linney, Maggie Smith & Kathy Bates Topline Sony Pictures Classics' Tribeca-Bound Comedy". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Miracle Club". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 15, 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  14. ↑ "The Miracle Club". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.