*SPOILERS*

 

It’s natural to go into a movie with a star-studded cast with high expectations. Kathy Bates never disappoints, plus Maggie Smith and Laura Linney round out the trio of strong women leads for The Miracle Club. Unfortunately these women are not given much to work with even though there was so much potential with this story. However, it is incomplete and ultimately half-hearted, choosing to stay safe instead of leaning into the drama surrounding the narrative. 

 

Chrissie (Linney) returns to her homeland, Ballygar, Ireland in 1967 following her mother’s death. Chrisse remained in Boston for the last 40 years and has had no contact with her mother and former life and friends she left behind. Eileen (Bates) was her best friend and Lily (Smith) was her mother’s best friend — both are completely stunned to see her back in town. Clearly there are skeletons in Chrissie’s closet that Eileen and Lily hold resentment for, shaming her upon her return. Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) is the neighbor of Chrissie’s mother, and she greets her with warmth instead of the coldness Eileen and Lily don’t even attempt to hide. The women reunite at a church fundraiser, where people are competing to win a chance to travel to a sacred town of Lourdes, France, an apparent “healing” place. Eileen desires to go because she has found a lump in her breast, Lily wants to resolve the internalized guilt over her son’s death, and Dolly wants to help her mute son find his words. Chrissie invites herself, after she finds her late mother’s ticket. 

 

Eventually it comes out that Chrissie left home so many years ago to have an abortion. Obviously, no one approved of this. There is tiptoeing around Lily’s son’s death—but my speculation is that he was the father of Chrissie’s unborn child, and it ultimately caused him to end his life. But this is one of many instances where the story is incomplete: you never fully learn or understand where Lily’s son falls into the story, but it would make sense for why Lily resents Chrissie. It is never explained why or what causes Dolly’s son to not talk, although he does end up speaking a word by the end of the film. Chrissie resolves her guilt by going on the trip and confronting these women in her life, I guess? It really seemed to just suddenly be resolved without consequence or complication. Which makes the past 40 years of passive aggressive silence seem even more unnecessary to the story. The worst part is that these women go back home from their trip to Lourdes with their awful, misogynistic husbands and that treated them horribly when they left for this trip, that I was not even happy to see them reunite. You wont miss anything if you skip The Miracle Club this summer.