The Miracle Club

It’s trite and predictable stuff: the laughs are forced; the pathos is over-stewed.

While there’s nothing outrightly stereotypical here, The Miracle Club suffers from being both sentimental and superficial. It’s exactly the sort of film you suspect was made to cater to American, rather than Irish tastes.

Some likeable performances — and solid Irish accents — can’t save a dreary parade of clichés. Pray that the Lord forgives these cinematic sins.

The Miracle Club is the sort of Sunday afternoon entertainment that is as reassuring as a bowl of warm soup; although Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s film errs on the side of the tepid.

... This is little more than a checklist of themes – Grief! Faith! Feminism! Family! – standing in for any true complexity.

The Miracle Club’s own maneuverings can, at times, feel a bit pat and convenient. But its final moment of reconciliation... justifies the trip.

The Miracle Club is far from miraculous, but Linney, Smith and Bates share just enough chemistry to justify a watch, especially for admirers of their work.

...the kind of film that critics generally ignore, ridicule or damn with faint praise…yet treats both religious belief and agnosticism with equal respect…

...forces Maggie Smith, Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Agnes O’Casey and Stephen Rea into predictable, cartoonish roles and ridiculous conflicts...

Thaddeus O'Sullivan's compelling look at trauma, "The Miracle Club" stars Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, and Dame Maggie Smith (formidable actors worthy of being three faces on a cinematic Mount Rushmore), all doing fine work.