Charming. The Miracle Club is an intimate portrait of the importance and catharsis of the painful act of forgiveness, both asking for and granting. If miracles were recurring, they’d be called regulars, as it stands, miracles are real but rare. Moreover, sometimes the smallest of, what we may characterize as, miracles, is the most transformative.

There’s just one dream for the women of Ballygar to taste freedom: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes. With a little benevolent interference from their local priest, a group of close friends get their ticket of a lifetime.

The plot is simple, but the characters incredibly complex. And thanks to the outstanding performances of the lead cast Dame Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Laura Linney, and Agnes O’Casey, this character-driven story will capture your mind and soul. Both believers and skeptics will find the characters authentic, lacking in any pretense.

Each character demonstrates the type of vulnerability that draws us in to connect with one or more of them, as we share many of the same questions, fears, anxieties, strengths, and weaknesses. From a character that was estranged from their family and hometown to a character harboring regret and resentment to one that feels they made a decision that potentially harmed their child, there is quite the portrait of traumas, sages of grief, and regret on display to inquire conversations following the close of the film.

Taking place in the picturesque town of Lourdes, the film transports audiences to stunning landscapes populated with gothic architecture. Never does it feel like a travelogue, but the setting itself is a character, in a manner of speaking.

This review is relatively short, because much of what there is to analyze is spiritual and philosophical in nature, and you have to see it to truly understand. Suffice it to say, wherever one falls on the spiritual spectrum, there is so much that is relatable in this film.

Ryan teaches Film Studies and Screenwriting at the University of Tampa and is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida and Indie Film Critics of America. If you like this article, check out the others and FOLLOW this blog! Interested in Ryan making a guest appearance on your podcast or contributing to your website? Send him a DM on Twitter. If you’re ever in Tampa or Orlando, feel free to catch a movie with him.

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