The Miracle Club

So, I'm not a "movie snob", but (like art) I know what I like. I like this movie, very much. It was a chance to see actresses I haven't seen in a while, so it's time of a review of each of them.

First, they ALL look older. And that's perfectly fine with me. I'd rather movies show me the reality of growing older than glamorize looking young and beautiful. If you still haven't a clue..."IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ACTING!!!"

I LOVE seeing Maggie Smith, as I've loved her since "Jean Brodie". Kathy Bates, LOVED in "Unconditional Love", as well as 99% of her acting catalog. And Laura Linney...another GREAT actress I LOVE from the "Tales In the City" series. EACH of them show their talents with great intuition and conviction in this piece. Out...

Laura Linney ("Chrissie") arrives back in the small Irish community of Ballygar following the death of her estranged mother. At that exact moment, there is a local talent contest going on and the prize is either a trip to Lourdes or a large bacon joint! Now three local women - "Lily" (Dame Maggie Smith); "Eileen" (Kathy Bates) and "Dolly" (Agnes O'Casey) want the trip so they can take the latter women's mute son "Daniel" (Eric Smith) to the shrine, they can all bathe in the waters, and hopefully the youngster will start to talk! It's a gently paced, if procedural, comedy this that allows each of the characters a few scenes to tell us of their woes before a denouement that isn't really a challenge for anyone - watching or acting. We deal wit...

When circumstances in our lives grow burdensome, many of us hope for a miracle. In some cases, that aspiration is looked upon and anticipated as a literal possibility, one that can be banked on if certain steps are taken. For many of the worlds Roman Catholics, that means making a pilgrimage to the holy shrine at Lourdes, France, site of a believed visitation by the Virgin Mary in 1858. And, in 1967, for the anguished residents of a small Irish town, thats just what they undertake in hopes of seeing their problems miraculously vanish. That premise provides the basis for director Thaddeus OSullivans latest feature offering, which tells the story of three generations of women who make the journey to see their trials and tribulations lifted, s...