Thaddeus O'Sullivan finds perfection in casting for 'The Miracle Club'

As a director, Thaddeus O’Sullivan is always drawn to a story with impact.

With his latest project, “The Miracle Club,” O’Sullivan saw an opportunity to helm a comedic feature film.

“I thought it was something I’d love to do,” he says. “There was an opportunity to mix in some drama to this film.”

O’Sullivan also hit the jackpot with the cast. The film, which opens in theaters on Friday, July 14, stars Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Stephen Rea, Agnes O’Casey and the legendary Maggie Smith.

Set in 1967, “The Miracle Club” tells the story of three generations of close friends — Lily, played by Smith, Eileen, played by Bates and Dolly, played by O’Casey — of Ballygar, a hard-knocks community in Dublin, who have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year.

When the chance to win presents itself, the women seize it.

However, just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie, played by Linney, arrives in Ballygar for her mother’s funeral, dampening their good mood and well-laid plans.

The women secure tickets and set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie, a skeptical traveler, joining in place of her mother.

The glamour and sophistication of Chrissie, who has just returned from a nearly 40-year exile in the United States, are not her only distancing traits: Old wounds are reopened along the way, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they travel in search of a miracle. Their shared traumas can only be healed by the curative power of love and friendship.

“Lourdes was something that I knew a lot about, and it is an important journey,” he says. “Every family on the street had someone who was going on the trek and had something to say about it. I wanted the characters to carry their own weight of importance.”

O’Sullivan says when it came to casting, he truly lucked out with a veteran ensemble cast.

“Each of these women are cast for the same reason, they are phenomenal,” he says. “In this case, they were cast brilliantly, and I never felt that their characters needed much from me in the way of motivation. They got the characters right. Sometimes the only advice I could give them was on cultural things that they needed to be reminded about.”

O’Sullivan enjoyed the script, but it was being able to watch the actors interpret the words that made him grateful for the opportunity.

“I would stand back and see what happened when the actors got the tools,” he says. “To see them on set and let loose. It’s so inspiring. We never did many takes for that reason, because each one of them was so on the button.”

O’Sullivan says there’s a scene with the four women in the room and watching them work was overwhelming.

“In that moment, I knew it was nice to be able to laugh and cry,” he says. “This is an open-hearted film and I hope that people enjoy the notion of reconciliation.”