During this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, The Miracle Club was one of the films that slipped my viewing grasp. So when the opportunity to review presented itself, I jumped at the chance. A star-studded cast on a pilgrimage of forgiveness and salvation had the promise of a deeply cathartic cinematic experience. Unfortunately, The Miracle Club does not rise to this potential, rather leaving a convoluted, confusing, and at times hollow representation of the human experience.
The Miracle Club
The Miracle Club opens in 1967 in Dublin. Lily Fox (Maggie Smith) stands at a stone wall, a plaque indicating the death of her son. As the film moves along, audiences meet both Eileen Dunne (Kathy Bates) and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey). As the film weaves in and out of their lives, families, and anticipation of the talent show in the forefront, small details are laid out to bolster the value winning the show has for each of them.
It feels as though we have stumbled into their lives, making them feel lived in, yet the haste the film flies through each of the women’s lives leaves little time for connection and understanding. Initially, With the talent show removed from the equation, there seems to be little connection between the three women other than living in a small town, The Miracle Club further driving an even deeper disconnect between its menagerie of characters and its audience. With the introduction of Chrissie (Laura Linney), the mood and increasing coyness of the film begins to feel heavier with each passing moment.
Chrissie feels out of place from the start, and as she moves through the town there is a sense of distaste and quiet regret that clings to her every movement. As she makes her way to the talent show, interacting with the woman following their performance, her emotions feel well-placed and authentic as she is met with seething dislike. But this immediately becomes frustrating as it is hard to understand the connection of all the women, the film needs to bask much of the backstory in mystery leaching out any intrigue it wants to create. And The Miracle Club will hold on to its secrets until it absolutely has to reveal them, losing much of its emotional base and audience empathy.
The Miracle Club feels less like a comedy and more of an exercise in faith. It has its comedic moments but to the detriment of the men these women leave behind as they head to Lourdes in France. Yet, their inclusion, even only as a comedic device, feels out of place and inconsequential to the overall story of the women. Too often, it actually works as a disservice to the film, breaking from the focus of forgiveness and healing it is already struggling to capture.
There is constantly a lot going in. And while this plagues the film early on, it does not become focused enough to make us care about the story. It can be said The Miracle Club is focused on the relationships surrounding the women, both past and present, but it feels as though it never becomes fully realized. It wants to take us to the core of the issues and find the healing strength to move forward, yet it constantly is pulling away.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, The Miracle Club was not what I had hoped it would be or emotionally deliver. Too often dry in its narrative construct, audiences will find little emotional investment. And while you do not go looking for a miracle, but rather the strength to live without one, I found myself realizing the strength to live without The Miracle Club.
The Miracle Club will be released in theaters on July 14, 2023!
Watch The Miracle Club
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