THE MIRACLE CLUB [2023] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] The Best Journey’s Take You Home!
Ballygar, Dublin, Ireland, 1967: close friends Lily Fox [Maggie Smith], Eileen Dunne [Kathy Bates], and Dolly Hennessy [Agnes O’Casey] win the trip of a lifetime – a pilgrimage to Lourdes. With each woman desperately in need of a personal miracle, the trip seems like an answer to all their prayers.
But when they are joined by Chrissie Ahearn [Laura Linney], returning to Dublin after decades in America, deep wounds from the past are re-opened and bitter truths exposed. As they confront one another and embrace their shared past, the group reckon with revelations that will change them forever.
Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ is a heartfelt story of friendship, family, and forgiveness.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 2024 Irish Film and Television Awards: Nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Agnes O'Casey.
FILM FACT No.2: ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ screenplay, written by Dubliner Jimmy Smallhorne, says his inspiration for the film came from his Mam and all other women who were the best multitaskers: “my mother had eight kids herself and my father so that’s ten meals three times a day – all the women on my street were heroic, charismatic, riveting characters. They had resilience in spite of the hardship and they had faith.” ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ was shot in Ireland on location around Dublin and Wicklow as well as at Ardmore Film Factory where a number of iconic locations were recreated including the world-famous Grotto at Lourdes. Kathy Bates who has been attached to the project for over a decade said, “It was very important to me that this film was shot in Ireland… I loved being in Ireland absolutely loved it.” Recreating the inner city of Dublin from the late 1960’s and also Lourdes was the job of John Hand the Production Designer on ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB.’ Kathy Bates said, “John Hand, made LookBooks for us – made up of everything from photos of how women looked crossing the street to looking at how a kitchen would have looked … which really helped us find a kinship between your character and the world that John and his incredibly talented team has created.” Actor Mark O’Halloran who plays Father Dermot Byrne says of ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ themes: “They are about friendship and community and forgiveness and reaching a place of acceptance. It’s about healing and getting healed and the different types of healing that are needed – spiritual and physical. Family and duty and responsibility to each other also features I think.” In December 2021, the film was in pre-production, having just received additional funding from the UK Global Screen Fund. The film was later shot in Dublin in 2022.
Cast: Maggie Smith, Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Agnes O'Casey, Stephen Rea, Mark O'Halloran, Eric D. Smith, Mark McKenna, Niall Buggy, Hazel Doupe, Brenda Fricker [Maureen voice], Luke Jackson Smith, Noel Gaskin, Sean O'Callaghan [Peter Singer], Shauna Higgins [Peter's Mother], Lesley Conroy, Rosemary Henderson, Fionnuala Murphy, Amélie Kiki McCormack, Alice Heneghan, Esther Brady (uncredited), Janet Grene (uncredited) and Martin McDonagh (uncredited)
Director: Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Producers: Aaron Farrell, Alixandre Witlin, Andrea Scarso, Anna Vincent, Anthony Nunziata, Anya Ryzhenkova, Celine Haddad, Chris Curling, Christelle Conan, Emma Berkofsky, Hugo Grumbar, Jessie Drake Mangum, John P. Gleeson, Jonathan Curling, Joshua D. Maurer, Kathryn Kennedy Fenton, Larry Bass, Libby D'Arcy, Louise Nathanson, Marie-Claire Benson, Oisín O'Neill, Peter Touche, Tim Haslam, Timothy Prager and Will Nunziata
Screenplay: Jimmy Smallhorne (based on a story), Joshua D. Maurer and Timothy Prager
Composer: Edmund Butt
Costume Design: Judith Williams
Make-up and Hair Department: Aisling Nairn (Make-up artist: Maggie Smith), Cliona Campbell (Junior Make-up daily), Emma Moffat (Crowd Make-up artist), Sharon Doyle (Make-up designer), Sonia Dolan (Key Make-up artist), Tara Gorman (Junior Make-up artist), Tina Phelan (Additional Make-up artist: daily), Bernie Dooley (Hairdresser: Maggie Smith), Brid Broadberry (Crowd hair supervisor / Crowd hair artist), Eileen Buggy (Hair designer), Kirsty-Cyane McGill (Junior hair stylist), Hannah Rankin (Junior hair stylist: daily), Jessica Whelan (Junior hairdresser), Niamh Glynn (Key hairdresser) and Raina Moore (Daily hairstylist)
Cinematography: John Conroy, I.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Special Effects: Brian 'Joker' Mulvey (Special Effects Technician) and Peter Redmond (Special Effects Floor Supervisor)
Visual Effects: Antoni Zakheos (Supervising VFX Artist), Artem Isaakyan (Visual Effects Supervisor), Dasha Sherman (Visual Effects Producer), Despina Kalogianni (VFX Production Manager), Diana Salahova (Production Coordinator), Domantas Lukosius (Visual Effects Artist), Kornelijus Tuzas (Visual Effects Editor) and Menelaos Pampoukidis (Visual Effects Supervisor)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Description Service
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 90 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: LIONSGATE / Zephur Films / City Films Entertainment / ShinAwil / Ingenious Media / BCP Asset Management / Embankment Films / Hianlo / UK Global Screen Fund / Fis Éirean / Screen Ireland
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ [2023] It concerns three women who go to Lourdes “for the cure.” Anyone not au fait with the Marian Devotion it is central to Irish Catholicism in that period may need a primer here, and relates to the once tiny French village is one of the places where Mary, Christ's mother, is said to have appeared. The grotto where the apparition took place is now a place of pilgrimage and, the faithful believe, where miracles – such as the lame being able to walk again – occur regularly, although not frequently.
The women are neighbours Lily Fox [Maggie Smith] and Eileen Dunne [Kathy Bates], accompanied by Eileen’s daughter Dolly Hennessy [Agnes O’Casey] and her son Daniel Hennessy [Eric D. Smith], who hasn’t spoken since he was born six years before.
Joining them is Chrissie Ahearn [Laura Linney], back in Dublin for her estranged mother's funeral and deciding on a whim to go. Chrissie Ahearn was once Eileen Dunne's best friend but left for America “in disgrace” 40 years before when she became pregnant by Lily Fox's only son, who died not long after. So there's a swirl of emotions as we learn the backstory to these fractured relationships and a fair few sins – Chrissie Ahearn's pride in not returning home sooner, Eileen Dunne's envy of her friend who made a better life, Lily Fox's cruelty to Chrissie Ahearn as she encouraged her mother to disown her daughter. It's enough to keep a priest busy in the confessional for a week.
Gradually, the women, encouraged by Dolly Hennessy [Agnes O'Casey], who doesn't understand the fuss, edge towards mending their relationships, helped along by the twinkling priest Father Dermot Byrne [Mark O’Halloran], on hand with sage advice when needed. “You don’t come to Lourdes for a miracle,” he says to Eileen Dunne who, it turns out, is in want of her own act of God. “You come for the strength to go on when there is no miracle.”
Of course we know that everyone will be redeemed by the end as they face the truth of their behaviour. The script – by Jimmy Smallthorne, Joshua Maurer and Timothy Prager – doesn't give these terrific actresses much to work with, but what they have they use to the utmost, particularly Chrissie Ahearn aka Laura Linney. It's a gentle, unchallenging film with a great heart and the period detail is totally wonderful and totally scrumptious.
MUSIC TRACK LIST THE MIRACLE CLUB
HE’S SO FINE (Words and Music by Ronald L Mack)
THE COKEY COKEY (Composed by James B Kennedy)
WANDERLY WAGON (Words and Music by Jim Doherty and Don Lenox)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – LIONSGATE, Zephur Films, City Films Entertainment, ShinAwil, Ingenious Media, BCP Asset Management, Embankment Films, Hianlo, UK Global Screen Fund, Fis Éirean and Screen Ireland presents us the film ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ with a wonderful and delightful 1080p image and is given a really nice 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The palette and skin tones on all of the actor’s faces look totally natural to give them great character personalities. Black levels are deep and quite good, and the professional cinematography by John Conroy, I.S.C. gives enough light in each shot to give the Lourdes shots wonder of depth and gravitas. Detail is also very striking, with exceedingly crisp edge definition and refined textures. So to sum up, LIONSGATE has presented us with brilliant wonderful colourful Blu-ray image presentation, so making watching ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ a really enjoyable visual experience.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – LIONSGATE, Zephur Films, City Films Entertainment, ShinAwil, Ingenious Media, BCP Asset Management, Embankment Films, Hianlo, UK Global Screen Fund, Fis Éirean and Screen Ireland brings us the film ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ with a totally natural 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. The Irish accents of all the characters were very natural, but one big negative aspect for me personally, is that when the actors speak very quiet, I could hardly hear what they were saying. But what were really nice was the sound field elements, like everything from the quaint little village of Ballygar to the chit-chat interiors of a bus, the echoing vaulted ceilings of the cathedral and the stone halls of a Lourdes church complex are engaging and immersive. So all in all, most of the audio presentation throughout the film is very natural and pleasant to listen to.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Sadly, there are no special features with this Blu-ray disc.
Finally, ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ is where we find Kathy Bates and Maggie Smith who do their best with strong Irish accents – though I was left wondering why native Irish actors weren't picked? You might expect that Maggie Smith would steal the show, as she can do with almost anything, but she turns out to have the restraint necessary to make this a true ensemble piece. And it's actually Chrissie Ahearn [Laura Linney] who turns out to be the crucial role in the story. Also the exceptional cast that includes Maggie Smith, Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Agnes O'Casey and many fine supporting players leads the way. These four have a complicated mutual history the threads of which intertwine and finally resolve in unlooked-for mutual forgiveness which, if there is one, is the actual miracle. They heal each other, and that's the message. The best thing about ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ is the actors who portray the three women – Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, and Kathy Bates. These three seasoned actors never miss a beat. You can feel the chemistry between them. Their characters are well-developed and relatable, and each one of them gives an outstanding performance. The star actresses are all terrific and make this film worth watching. Co-stars include Stephen Rea, Niall Buggy, Agnes O'Casey, and Mark O'Halloran. On top of all that, we get to view a beautifully acted film about faith and the ties that bind, despite the secrets and lies. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
