Drama
The Miracle Club (12A)
Review: Three generations of women seek spiritual enlightenment and forgiveness in a tender drama, directed by Thaddeus O‘Sullivan, which possesses the heart-warming cosiness and charm of an episode of Call The Midwife transplanted from London’s East End to the suburbs of 1967 Dublin. There are no miracles performed on screen by a stellar ensemble including Laura Linney, Kathy Bates and Dame Maggie Smith, who deftly navigate thorny issues of miscarriage, bereavement and terminal illness with compassion, sensitivity and dewy-eyed sisterly solidarity.
As a kindly priest observes to one of his doubting flock after she learns there have only been 62 documented miracles in a sacred French town since 1858: “You don’t come to Lourdes for a miracle. You come for the strength to go on when there is no miracle.” The strength of O’Sullivan’s picture lies in casting Oscar-winning and -nominated talent alongside rising stars and applying a light touch to more challenging subject matter rather than shamelessly targeting our tear ducts. Solid production design evokes an era of staunch resolves and so-called traditional gender roles when menfolk went out to work while women multitasked caring for babies, tending the home and serving a wholesome home-cooked meal at the end of the day.
Chrissie Ahearn (Linney) arrives in the town of Ballygar from Boston for the funeral of her mother Maureen, 40 years after she was banished by friends and family as a pregnant teenager. Her sharp-tongued cousin Eileen Dunne (Bates) greets her return with withering insults and Maureen’s good friend Lily Fox (Smith) is equally hostile, having warned her son Dermot to steer clear of Chrissie many years ago. The return of the prodigal daughter coincides with a pilgrimage to Lourdes organised by Father Dermot Byrne (Mark O’Halloran).
Eileen will go despite fierce resistance from her husband Frank (Stephen Rea), having recently discovered a small lump in her breast. Lily is keen to visit the Massabielle Grotto, where the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared to a local woman. “I’ve always wanted to go… I’m running out of chances,” she trills. Their neighbour Dolly Hennessy (Agnes O’Casey) will also be on the coach with her young son Daniel (Eric D Smith). She is praying the revered bath waters will encourage her boy to utter his first words. Chrissie unexpectedly honours her mother’s dying wish and gatecrashes the excursion. Old wounds slowly heal as the women reflect on the past and spend quality time together.
The Miracle Club is an endearingly old-fashioned portrait of community rallying in the face of adversity, threaded with earthy humour and more than a hint of blarney. Irish accents that waver when characters raise their voices do not distract greatly from universally appealing performances and director O’Sullivan does not rush inevitable scenes of reconciliation. Slow and steady wins the race.
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Animation
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (PG)
Review: Every dog has its day, especially the smallest of the litter, in a second feature film extension of the hugely popular PAW Patrol children’s TV series, which has been wagging the tails of young viewers since 2013. Prefaced by the energetic short Dora And The Fantastical Creatures, which celebrates the brightly coloured alebrijes from Mexican folklore, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie turbocharges the titular canines with powers relevant to their skill sets. Thus, firefighter Marshall summons balls of flame from his paws, aquatic rescue expert Zuma becomes one with water and construction pup Rubble metamorphoses into a wrecking ball.
“New powers, new merchandise. To all the parents out there, I’m sorry,” quips reporter Sam Stringer (voiced by Lil Rel Howery), covering the story for Adventure City News Network. Tongue-in-cheek self-awareness takes infrequent walks in a script penned by director Cal Brunker, Billy Frolick and Bob Barlen, who acknowledge the preposterousness of the central dramatic conceit when junkyard owner Janet (Kristen Bell) explains to her pet goldfish Bruce that PAW Patrol are little puppies that defy canine physiology to drive around in cars. “I know that sounds weird but… just go with it!” she chirrups. Young audiences certainly will, relishing the introduction of a trio of cute Pomeranians aka the Junior Patrollers, who prove that small can be mighty.
Ten-year-old Ryder (Finn Lee-Epp) and PAW Patrol pups Chase (Christian Convery), Liberty (Marsai Martin), Marshall (Christian Corrao), Rocky (Callum Shoniker), Rubble (Luxton Handspiker), Skye (Mckenna Grace) and Zuma (Nylan Parthipan) stand guard over Adventure City from their high-tech Lookout. The team responds to a report of a fire at the junkyard owned by Hank (James Marsden) and Janet (Bell) following the theft of their electromagnet. The culprit is mad scientist Victoria Vance (Taraji P Henson), who intends to harness to power of the electromagnet to attract Meteor X2805 into Earth’s atmosphere so she can harvest precious crystals contained within the fallen space rock.
Her plan backfires. The meteor destroys the PAW Patrol’s Lookout and imbues the pups with extraordinary abilities. Skye hopes her newfound super-strength and an ability to fly will allow her to finally shake off her self-doubt and become living proof of Ryder’s rousing call to arms: “No job is too big, no pup is too small!”
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie finesses tricks from the pups’ first big screen outing, with a brief appearance by the series’ chief antagonist Mayor Humdinger (Ron Pardo) and his army of moggies. Stakes feel higher in the sequel and Grace’s vocal performance captures Skye’s deep-rooted desire to prove herself, even if that means taking her last bark to protect Adventure City. A brisk running time keeps children’s attention on a comfortable but tight leash.
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Comedy
Sumotherhood (15)
Review: Actor, writer and director Adam Deacon returns to the mean streets of London in a self-penned buddy comedy, which taps the same parodic vein as his hit-or-miss 2011 film Anuvahood. A lacklustre script credited to Deacon, co-star Jazzie Zonzolo and Michael Vu uses five words – bro, bruv, cuz, fam, man – as the punctuation of breathless, wordy sentences peppered with references to 12 Years A Slave, Crimewatch and Emmerdale. If tumbleweed were to blow through the English capital, it would take root and flourish in Deacon’s picture, which boasts longueurs when jokes consistently fall flat and cast turn up the volume on performances in search of an elusive laugh.
The best moments, which are fleeting, do not involve the chaotic central duo, who share bunk beds without a humorous payoff (“We’re not gay. We just sleep together, innit”). Cameos and random one-liners, like the tower block resident who does not appreciate interruptions to her TV viewing (“Can you shut up? I’m trying to watch Gogglebox!”), are the welcome diversions. Ed Sheeran’s noisy introduction as a vagrant, who squats in bushes to relieve himself in full view of the public, is memorable for the wrong reasons but Jennifer Saunders single-handedly salvages the bullet-riddled closing act with a barn-storming portrayal of a no-nonsense detective inspector who abhors chauvinism on her watch. Her grandstanding MeToo-era speech bears scant resemblance to the rest of the film and is delivered with hilarious, scenery-chewing gusto.
Riko (Deacon) and best friend Kane (Zonzolo) are in debt to the Patels to the tune of £15,000 and have seven days to repay before they lose appendages and what remains of their dignity. An impromptu plan to hold up rapper Lethal Bizzle (playing himself) at gunpoint in a nightclub toilet ends in humiliation and the duo bungle the robbery of a local bank, causing one of the customers, hard man Leo Demarco (Danny Sapani), to suffer a heart attack.
Fake news spreads that Leo is dead and Shotti (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), leader of one of East London’s toughest firms, recruits Riko and Kane in gratitude for killing a rival. “It’s like we’re finally being viewed as bad boys, cuz!” whoops Kane. With the clock ticking down to the Patels’ deadline, Riko and Kane awkwardly embrace their undeserved new reputations while self-confessed “bipolar boy” Riko seeks to win the heart of Tamara (Leomie Anderson), who is fiercely protected by her unhinged stepbrother (Richie Campbell).
Sumotherhood swaggers unconvincingly through loosely tethered vignettes to a soundtrack featuring Skepta, Stefflon Don, Russ Millions and Tion Wayne. Toes curl with discomfort and boredom for extended periods as Deacon blitzes the screen with a police chase, protracted gun fight and Jeremy Corbyn randomly berating 10 years of a Tory government. “Too much is going on!” despairs Riko. But not enough, sadly, of what matters.
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