It opens in the late 1960s in the fictional working-class Dublin enclave of Ballygar, where Linney’s Chrissie Ahearn – who’s nattily dressed enough to raise eyebrows in this quaintly down-at-heel spot – has returned from the United States for the first time in 40 years. The occasion of her visit is her mother’s funeral, though few are delighted to see her – not least Smith’s Lily, whose late son Daniel played a decisive role in Chrissie’s departure four decades beforehand.
Anyway, with a worrying creak and a clank from the plot, it isn’t long before Chrissie becomes caught up in the local church coach trip to Lourdes. Lily is among her fellow passengers, as are her estranged one-time best friend Eileen (a thanklessly sour part for Kathy Bates) and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey), a younger housewife and mother who brings along her mute son in the hope the French town’s healing waters might bid him to speak.
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***The Telegraph reviews***
It shouldn’t be controversial to say that [Maggie Smith](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/maggie-smith-britains-greatest-character-actress/) has long surpassed national treasure status. That signature rheumy glare, capable of turning from withering to wounded with a barely perceptible flick, should be on [UNESCO’s](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/unesco-world-heritage-sites-uk-tentative-list/) next list of intangible cultural heritage. Said look proves to be one of two secret weapons in this gentle, lightly comic Irish period piece about the fading of intergenerational bruises: the other is a sincere and deeply felt performance from Laura Linney, whose verbal set-tos with Smith are its unquestionable highlights.
It opens in the late 1960s in the fictional working-class Dublin enclave of Ballygar, where Linney’s Chrissie Ahearn – who’s nattily dressed enough to raise eyebrows in this quaintly down-at-heel spot – has returned from the United States for the first time in 40 years. The occasion of her visit is her mother’s funeral, though few are delighted to see her – not least Smith’s Lily, whose late son Daniel played a decisive role in Chrissie’s departure four decades beforehand.
Anyway, with a worrying creak and a clank from the plot, it isn’t long before Chrissie becomes caught up in the local church coach trip to Lourdes. Lily is among her fellow passengers, as are her estranged one-time best friend Eileen (a thanklessly sour part for Kathy Bates) and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey), a younger housewife and mother who brings along her mute son in the hope the French town’s healing waters might bid him to speak.
**Read the full review:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-miracle-club-review-maggie-smith-laura-linney/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-miracle-club-review-maggie-smith-laura-linney/)