“I guess there’s always hope, even when you don’t fully believe.”

There is such a narrow boundary between optimism and blind faith, and quite a bit of it has to do with how far someone is willing to hold onto the hope that their life will improve in some way – whether it be overcoming a disease or disability, or finding peace in the fact that we cannot always control the direction in which our lives move. This is something that the characters in The Miracle Club come to realize after a life-changing journey from their home in working-class Ireland to Lourdes, the famous pastoral village in France that was claimed to be the place where the Virgin Mary appeared to a young nun, who spread the word and made this small corner of Europe one of the most important places in Christianity, and to where countless people make pilgrimages in the hope of finding some healing. Thaddeus O’Sullivan is not a filmmaker that is instantly recognizable, and has mostly made his living working in television – but his previous forays into cinema have proven to be quite special, with every one of his films being charming and insightful works that usually focus on ordinary people (mostly from his native Ireland) as they face various personal challenges, overcoming them with the help of both the people around them and their internal motivation to succeed, which is true of even those slightly darker and more complex dramas he made earlier in his career. The Miracle Club is another lovely entry into his body of work, and it has a sense of honesty and integrity that can only come from a director who truly believes in what he is sharing with their film, and with a strong script and a wonderful cast, he creates a delightful and moving film that is both funny and heartfelt, never being afraid to have the serious conversations, but also not allowing them to derail an otherwise pleasant comedy.

From the very mention of the title, The Miracle Club proves to be slightly divisive – there is a large portion of the audience that immediately distances itself from any work that centres on faith. While there are certainly good reasons among them, there is still value in looking beneath the surface, since this film proves to be a lot more engaging than its somewhat simple premise may suggest. The idea of a quartet of working-class women making a pilgrimage to a holy site does seem like the foundation of faith-based sentimentality, and it isn’t fair to say that The Miracle Club is entirely different from these expectations, since it does follow quite a predictable pattern and hits all the notes that we may expect. However, the charm comes in both how O’Sullivan manages to work around some cliches, as well as embracing those that were inevitably going to factor into the story, transforming them into more interesting moments that are not merely present as a way of moving the story along. As much as we would like to imagine faith-based stories are passé from our intellectual ivory tower, the reality is that religion still plays a fundamental part in the lives of many people, and like any kind of traditional belief, some flaws should be discussed and unpacked – but there are also incredibly beautiful aspects of religion, and we find that The Miracle Club is not about proving the existence of any deity or promoting the idea that only through belief can we find the answers to the questions we seek. Instead, this is a film about how faith can bring comfort and allow us to see life in a very different way, and that religion is often best used as a means of understanding ourselves better, which is sometimes quite difficult. The film is more dedicated to showing how religion can bring people together and help build a community long before it is about worship, which makes quite a difference and helps set an atmosphere that is much more focused on the human side of belief, rather than the ethereal.

Any viewer could be forgiven for overlooking the storyline and instead focusing on the cast, since this is the first element that draws us to The Miracle Club, which is unabashedly proud of the fact that it managed to attract three of the greatest actors of their generation to take on roles in this very small, intimate comedy. Kathy Bates, Laura Linney and Dame Maggie Smith are gifted enough to make even the most inconsequential of material seem astonishing, so it is wonderful to see that their talents were used to bring such memorable characters to life. We can criticize the film for some of its more conventional writing and a few moments where it depends on cliches a bit too heavily, but we can’t find much fault in these performances, which are captivating and deeply enthralling, and prove how remarkably interesting they are as actors. Bates is the heart of the film, having the most sentimental role as the unofficial leader of “The Miracles”, the trio that is focused on winning tickets to visit Lourdes – and she fits in perfectly within this community depicted throughout the film, which is evidence of her chameleonic talents and willingness to adapt to any role. It is some of the best work she has done in years, and the spark of mischief that has always followed her throughout her career has never shone brighter than it has in this film. Smith is similarly wonderful, once again taking on the more comedic role as the pernickety, grouchy older member of the cast, but bringing such incredible nuance to a role that could have been a one-dimensional retreading of the patrician older woman archetype she has been shoehorned into playing for the past decade, this being a wonderful change of pace that allows Smith to challenge herself to do something different, while still letting her draw on the aspects that we love the most from her performances. Linney has the most difficult role, since she is the least sympathetic at the start, but ultimately is the person who has the largest development, which is a task that she was more than willing to embrace. The supporting cast is also quite good, and The Miracle Club becomes a true communal effort, with everyone working together to create a memorable and meaningful experience.

Once we move past the idea that The Miracle Club is an over-sentimental film about the power of faith, it is possible to see that there is something much deeper beneath the surface of this film, which emerges the more time we spend with these characters. Primarily, the film is about friendship in various forms – it isn’t a surprise that the four central characters are women of radically different ages, each one born in a different generation and therefore have varied perspectives on life. Yet, they all prove to be cut from the same cloth, being feisty and independent women trying their best to make sense of the world that surrounds them, and finding answers to the questions they all seek, not realizing that the key to overcoming these obstacles is not found through any miracles or faith-fueled epiphanies, but rather through opening up to those around them and revealing their inner insecurities and allowing the growing friendship to guide them in the right direction. It is an intriguing concept, and we find that The Miracle Club is a film about the impact of human connection and how it can heal us in ways that we don’t always expect. The four women whose journey we follow in this film are all making their way to Lourdes for different reasons, but what they share is that they are all seeking peace – whether it be trying to come to terms with the death of a loved one, overcoming their fear of death or simply trying to understand why they were dealt a particular set of existential cards, they are all trying to find comfort, which they soon learn is not found through visiting grottos or spiritual baths, which may be beautiful and idyllic, but are only the catalyst for the real journey of healing, which emerges through the inevitable introspection and conversation that occurs when these women open up to one another and find solace in each other. True peace can only come from within, and this film does very well in proving this concept in a beautiful and often bitingly funny manner.

The Miracle Club is not a particularly challenging affair, nor is it entirely serious – if anything, its comedic approach to the subject matter becomes even more important than the more dramatic moments, since it shows that there is always hope, but only if one makes their way through life with a joyful disposition and a good sense of humour, since without seeing the bright side of every moment, every day would be miserable. This is the true beauty of this film – it shines a light on all the reasons we have to be cheerful and hopeful that, regardless of what occurs around us in our daily life, there is always a reason to keep moving, even if it means changing our entire perspective and appreciating the smallest aspects of existence, which we usually take for granted. There are many reasons to love The Miracle Club, which is a much more engaging and captivating film than we may initially imagine – its heartfulness and sense of humour are incredible, and it carries itself with such elegance, which is undercut by a genuine sense of mischief that makes it a truly entertaining, heartwarming endeavour that proves how the simplest films are usually the most effective. Anchored by a wonderful cast, all of whom are united in their shared devotion to this story, and told with such incredible honesty, The Miracle Club is a real triumph, a charming and captivating film with a lot of heart and soul, and one that proves the importance of looking for the deeper meaning in even the most pedestrian of stories. Heartfelt, funny and always insightful to some profoundly moving topics, it would be extremely difficult to not fall madly in love with this delightful and irreverent film that knows exactly how to capture our attention where it matters the most, as well as keeping us engaged at every moment.