Very much like Jordan's breakthrough, "The Crying Game," this earlier film wraps deftly realized details of contemporary Irish life around a fairy-tale plot, making an otherwise implausible denouement seem inevitable. Though the characters are almost archetypes, the solid performances and generally sharp dialogue freshen an age-old premise, and the banter between Jimmy and Rose is especially notable. The photography is at once unforgiving and lyrical, lending a haunted quality to the decaying seaside setting and evoking a carnivalesque atmosphere. The real star here, though, is Jordan's fundamentally cinematic sensibility; the effect the film creates would be diminished in any other medium. "The Miracle" amounts to more than the sum of its parts, and is one of this director's best efforts.
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