Set in 1967, THE MIRACLE CLUB follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) of Ballygar, outside Dublin, who win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year. Just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her mother’s funeral. The women set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie, a skeptical traveler, joining in place of her mother. Along the way, old wounds are reopened, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they travel in search of a miracle.

For in-depth thoughts on The Miracle Club, please see my colleague Caillou Pettis’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

The Miracle Club comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is quite pleasing. This is a capably composed film with many impressive shots of sumptuous locales where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The film embraces the vibrant hues on display from the greens of the foliage to the splashes of color in the costumes and elements of the production design. This is a film with a natural color palette that is reproduced perfectly here with a pleasing radiance.

There are numerous sequences featuring vegetation and trees in the background that provide a nice reference to showcase the depth at play in the image. Nearly all shots are razor-sharp for a crisp veneer. The highlights are handled beautifully, along with the solid blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. There are no obvious deficiencies when it comes to noise or other such digital nuisances. Skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. This presentation should please most audience members.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures the gentle mood that transports you to this time in history. This is a very low-key film, but some moments give the track more life in the surround channels. The sound design is precisely executed with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a dynamic soundscape that showcases the nuances of the locale.

The score is showcased beautifully here with a gently enveloping use of the rear channels. Dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overshadowed by the environmental effects or the score. This is far from an action-heavy film, so the activity in the low end is reserved for a few key moments of additional texture. This release brings the movie to life in a really splendid way. There are optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

Trailer: There is a two-minute trailer provided for The Miracle Club.

Final Thoughts

The Miracle Club is the epitome of a gentle charmer for the blue-hair crowd. The narrative actually allows older characters to take the spotlight on screen and be given depth beyond their age. The script typically chooses to paint in broad strokes rather than dig for nuance, yet the ensemble makes everything work as well as it does. These performers are legends, and they do what they have always done really well. Even with a relatively brisk runtime, there are moments that drag a little bit, typically due to deficiencies in the script. Even still, this one is a fine viewing experience that we embrace due to the scarcity of such films in the cinematic ecosystem these days. While not perfect, it does what it sets out to do pretty well. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and nothing in the way of special features. You get what you expect from this feature, nothing more, nothing less.

The Miracle Club can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.