‘The Miracle Club’: Maggie Smith, Laura Linney and Kathy Bates Elevate Irish Dramedy That Confronts the Past

Sandra Miska

The need to believe is at the center of “The Miracle Club,” a comedy-drama centered around an intergenerational group of Irish women who make a very special pilgrimage to Lourdes, France in 1967. The legendary Maggie Smith acts alongside two other greats, Laura Linney and Kathy Bates, as well as gifted newcomer Agnes O’Casey, to tell the story of a spiritual journey that has the potential to heal some decades-old wounds.

The story begins in Dublin shortly after the death of the mother of Chrissie (Linney). Chrissie, who has been living in Boston for 40 years, crosses the Atlantic for the first time since she left to see the woman buried. The kind, handsome and youngish priest, Father Dermot (Mark O’Halloran), tells her of a church talent show her mom helped organize before her death. Chrissie decides to attend, and there she has an awkward reunion with some old neighbors, Lily (Smith) and Eileen (Bates). It is revealed that she was once thick as thieves with Eileen, as well as with Lily’s son, who drowned not long after she left. She did not leave for America on the best of terms with her family and friends, and there is still a lot of lingering hurt, resentment, and unanswered questions.

Nevertheless, Chrissie is convinced by Father Dermot to take her mother’s spot on a church trip to Lourdes, a town in France where the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to a young girl over a hundred years prior. Since then, thousands in search of a miracle have made the pilgrimage to Lourdes. Lily, who is still grieving her son, also comes, as does Eileen, who has discovered a lump in her breast. Dolly (O’Casey) tags along with her nonverbal little boy (Eric D. Smith), whom she is desperate to hear speak.

Many people have spent years saving up to go to Lourdes, so it is somewhat fitting that “The Miracle Club” took years to make. Director Thaddeus O’Sullivan first became involved with the project 15 years ago, but after some hiccups put it on pause, he officially came onboard in 2020. O’Sullivan, who grew up in Ireland in a household not unlike the ones depicted in the film, revealed to Entertainment Voice that the screenplay struck a chord with him, as his own parents once made the journey to Lourdes.

According to O’Sullivan, merely being in Lourdes is an “affecting thing,” whether or not one is a believer. “I think people respond very well, whether they’re nonbelievers or not, to being in Lourdes and, what we used to call when we were writing it ‘the Lourdes effect.’ The sheer experience of being there among people who are so dedicated gave a lot of people a lot of hope just being there.”

The film was eventually made in no small part due to the tenacity of Smith, who believed in it from the beginning. O’Sullivan revealed how much he valued her experience and input during production. “She’s so clever. It was great just to see her on the set. And her interpretation of the character was very fulsome, to the point where she would improvise things. She would just throw things in and we’d have a little discussion about that and then move on. She was very, very supportive. She wasn’t starry at all.”

Smith was also the reason Linney signed on, and the relationship between their two characters is the emotional core of the film. Although Chrissie does not have the same level of devotion to the Catholic Church as the others do, it turns out she is just as in need of healing as they are. Although there is no changing the past, it becomes apparent that mending her fractured relationships with Lily and Eileen would be one of the best things for each of their souls.

Something that is interesting about “The Miracle Club” is the casting of Bates as an Irish woman. As viewers, we are used to watching actors from the U.K. play Americans, but we do not see the opposite as much. O’Sullivan credits Bates’ strong performance to her incredible work ethic. 

“She was a Trojan worker,” said the director of Bates, who worked with a dialect coach.. “She was  determined to get it all right… She told me that she used to talk to her dog in the accent. And the dog would look at her quite baffled. ‘Who is this woman who’s talking to me in a strange voice?’”

While O’Sullivan has a deep respect for his religious, working-class characters, he does not shy away from exposing the ugly side of being a part of a close-knit community like this. Gossiping and judgemental attitudes lead to festering wounds, and the urge to spread rumors does not lessen with age here. Decades after turning their backs on her, Lily and Eileen are still quick to think the worst of Chrissie, going even as far as to speculate that her motivation in coming to Lourdes is to seduce Father Dermot.

But that’s not to say that Lily and Eileen are bad people, they’re just stuck in old ways of thinking and have their own problems to deal with. Along with with Dolly, they have husbands who take them for granted and act helpless at times (a humorous and heartfelt subplot involves the men taking care of their respective households while their women are gone). In Lourdes, some have a crisis of faith after learning that there have only been a whopping 62 confirmed miracles in the town since the first reported Marian appropriation over a century earlier. 

This is where the aforementioned “Lourdes effect” kicks in, and it is beautiful to watch. Being together in this mystical place pushes Lily, Eileen and Chrissie to do and say things that they wouldn’t back in Dublin, and some might say they experience miraculous emotional and spiritual healing. Dolly, meanwhile, makes a confession and learns to forgive herself with the support of the women around her. While times have changed since 1967, the trials, tribulations and feelings of guilt these women are dealt with will certainly resonate with many women watching the film today.

“You can’t leave here without something happening,” reiterated O’Sullivan about Lourdes. “It was lovely to just think of it like that, and force the women into responding to the past and facing it.” 

“The Miracle Club” releases July 14 in theaters nationwide.