Small Things Like These ★★★★

Released: 1^st November 2024

Director: Tim Mielants

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley

Fresh off the back of one of the highest-grossing films of 2023 in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and of course now with an Oscar to his name. You might expect Cillian Murphy to pursue another sizable project. To his credit, his first film following that momentous win is Small Things Like These, a relatively small-scale Irish drama adapting the best-selling novella of the same name from Claire Keegan. It focuses on coal merchant Bill Furlong who uncovers a scandal in his local convent in the town of New Ross. The film as with its source material covers the Magdalene Laundries or asylums, which have been estimated to have housed over 30,000 women, leading to a serious investigation in the years following their closure.

Bill has clearly had somewhat of a rough life himself, following the death of his mother as a child and a life trying to make ends meet for himself and his family. In the run-up to Christmas it covers both his family and the Christmas of 1985, juxtaposed with his childhood and struggles. Murphy has always been an actor whose striking features have been a huge asset. That is certainly the case here, in a film that maximises the Irish landscape and the pensive, reserved Bill’s facial features. Murphy does plenty without needing to speak, clearly shellshocked by what he is seeing at the convent while reconciling his own emotional past.

Alongside Murphy, Emily Watson gives a chilling performance as Sister Mary, the mother superior of the convent. While she doesn’t have a huge amount of screentime, she certainly leaves an impression. The wintry setting is foreboding, adding an extra chill to proceedings with a snowy backdrop and serene vistas, offsetting the uncomfortable truth of what is taking place. The film may be rather sedate. Yet for the most part it rewards the audience’s investment, covering an important period in recent Irish history as celebrated Irish playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh (Hunger) brings Keegan’s novella to life in fine fashion.

Small Things Like These showcases Cillian Murphy’s range once again, a far cry from his turn as the inventor of the Atomic Bomb. It is an important recollection of a dark time in Ireland’s history and the craft on display makes for a moving watch that is occasionally uncomfortable but vital nonetheless.