FILM PICK OF THE WEEK
In 1967 in a working-class district of Dublin a group of friends are preparing for the annual talent competition, the first prize for which is an all-expenses paid trip to Lourdes.
There is Eileen (Kathy Bates), a mother of many, married to feckless Frank (Stephen Rea) who could really just do with a bit of a rest.
Rea is not keen on her going but she enters the competition anyway with her two friends ageing Lily (Maggie Smith) and young mother Dolly (Agnes O’Casey). The three of them perform as a girl band called ‘the Miracle Club’ and they win the coveted first prize.
There is fierce rivalry for the tickets so they are delighted to be on their way to the famous French place of pilgrimage where in 1858 St Bernadette was supposedly visited by an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
Shortly before they leave, local woman Chrissie (Laura Linney) who left under a cloud more than twenty years before, returns from America where she settled in order to attend the funeral of her estranged mother, who was the best friend of Eileen and Lily.
Chrissie receives a very frosty welcome from the two older women and it is clear that whatever happened, there is some bridge building to be done. The kindly priest who is leading the trip to Lourdes offers Chrissie a ticket – and after some hesitation, she accepts.
Each of the women is seeking some kind of ‘miracle’. Eileen has discovered a lump in her breast which she is worried about,
Lily has her own reasons for seeking redemption which may have some connection with the loss of her son who drowned as a young man and Dolly has a young son who is non-verbal; she is hoping that immersion in the healing waters at Lourdes might result in her little boy being able to speak. Chrissie meanwhile hopes to make some kind of peace with her own past.
It is not giving too much away to say that none of them get exactly what they are looking for, but are enriched in other ways, including learning something new about themselves and those close to them.
Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, It is not going to win any awards for originality and the narrative is slight, but it is well worth a look, mainly for the performances from Linney, Bates and Smith which are all as high quality as you would expect.