Small Things Like These

Ireland, 1985. Christmas is approaching. As always, coal merchan Bill Furlong (Oscar winner Cillian Murphy) is up early to make sure his customers are ready for the winter. Together with his wife and five daughters, Bill leads a modest life. His peaceful existence is disrupted when he discovers a secret in the local convent, run by Sister Mary (Emily Watson). This discovery puts him in a difficult position and forces him to confront the deafening silence of a town suffering the suffocating influence of the Catholic Church.

Small Things Like These is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Claire Keegan, an author represented on every reading list in Ireland. Without referring to them by name, both the book and the film shed light on the abusive practices of Ireland’s notorious Magdalene laundries where women - mostly young, unwed single mothers - were housed in deplorable conditions. In 2013, an official apology was issued by the Irish state to the tens of thousands of victims.

Actor Cillian Murphy personally gave the script of the film to Belgian director Tim Mielants, with whom he had worked on the third season of the British TV series Peaky Blinders. After the war drama WIL, Mielants returns to the intimacy of his debut, De Patrick. Small Things Like These is captivating auteur cinema about quiet resistance, relying entirely on Murphy's restrained performance. As Bill, Murphy reveals a different side of his immense acting talent. Frank van den Eeden's camera (Close, Holly) captures him in tactile close-ups that don't hide the pain and doubt on Murphy's face. While others resort to words, Mielants and Murphy rely on the power of silence - a poignant irony, considering that silence is what kept the last Magdalene laundry open until 1996.