The year is 1967, the fictional Irish town of Ballygar near Dublin, a fun, dark place where everyone knows about each other’s affairs. A group of local women are determined to win a talent contest and go on a free pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, where bathing in holy water has long been said to work wonders.
The first is Dolly (Agnes O’Casey), an affable fashionista who desperately wants her quiet son to learn to talk. Eileen (Kathy Bates with a slightly quirky Dublin style) has just discovered a tumor in her breast, although she has not yet told her hapless husband (Stephen Rea). There’s also the eldest Lily (Dame Maggie Smith), who opens the film at the memorial to her long-dead son Declan.
And then there’s Chrissie (Laura Linney), visiting from America for the first time in 40 years since her mother’s death, wearing a lot of colorful coats to show her uncontrollability, and infuriating Lily and Eileen because she won’t be coming back. previously. “I didn’t leave, I was banished,” she spits back as the backstory begins to unfold.
The stylish ensemble somehow carries the film, with Irish director and cinematographer Thaddeus O’Sullivan giving plenty of space to the characters’ wonderfully expressive faces. Is there hope for reconciliation? Of course it is possible! Linney plays the underdog particularly well here, her face contorting and sad before her resolve emerges. But the banal, predictable plot (about as boring as the film’s boring title) ultimately lets it down.
Everything is very corny and dubious, from the lazily contrived abortion backstory to the father who can’t fix his baby’s diaper in his wife’s absence to the friendly priest who tells Eileen, “You’re not going to Lourdes.” .” for some time. Be surprised. They come to gain strength to continue unless a miracle happens.” He could have told her before she was exposed to the icy waters of the temple, right?
This whole “miracles aren’t quite what you think” thing ends up patronizing the very women it’s supposed to empower. Especially when they’re all excited to be reunited with their spouses, who, frankly, don’t seem to be doing very well.
Various believers, including Smith, tried to get the film off the ground for almost twenty years before British producer Chris Curling finally got it off the ground. Maybe they should have left it alone. He has a lot of star power, but no real charisma.
Source: I News
I am Mario Pickle and I work in the news website industry as an author. I have been with 24 News Reporters for over 3 years, where I specialize in entertainment-related topics such as books, films, and other media. My background is in film studies and journalism, giving me the knowledge to write engaging pieces that appeal to a wide variety of readers.