Small Things Like These (2024) – Film Review

Director: Tim Mielants
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Emily Watson
Certificate: 12A

By David Reid

This film is adapted by Enda Walsh from Claire Keegan’s Orwell Prize-winning novel of 2021. Produced by and starring Cillian Murphy, it also credits Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as producer and executive producer, respectively. The story centres on Bill Furlong, played by Murphy, a middle-aged proprietor of a coal delivery business in the Irish County Wexford town of New Ross. Bill regularly delivers coal and turf to the local convent. There is little interaction between him and the nuns, giving the impression that although the convent is part of the community—including schooling its children—this institution remains distinctly separate.

The local people seem to know little to nothing about what happens within its walls. Through Bill’s glimpses of convent life during his work, secrets of life there are gradually revealed. Bill is a quiet family man, living with his wife—portrayed strongly by Eileen Walsh—and their children in the local area.

Director Tim Mielants allows us to see the story unfold through Bill Furlong’s eyes. The main character is a taciturn man who becomes increasingly uncomfortable with what he has seen at the convent. He enjoys a loving relationship with his wife, who senses something is troubling him. Can he share these painful aspects of his work with her? Should he reveal what he has learned more widely?

“Disquieting”

There is a vulnerability to Bill, and as the story progresses, we learn that he has had his own struggles, which may influence how he confronts the central moral dilemma of the film. A genteel film score enables us to follow his thoughts, and his laboured breathing is frequently emphasised as he hoists heavy coal bags while tackling his daily work, slowly but assiduously. This intimacy in sound and the use of slow camera panning in several scenes bring the audience closer to Bill and his world. The cinematography reflects a murky convent environment, with a seemingly enhanced use of grey and blue hues. Like Bill, the viewer is drawn into this disquieting world. This is a film as much concerned with pace as it is with plot.

The issue of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries is addressed here carefully and with sensitivity through Bill’s experiences. It received a more direct treatment previously in Peter Mullan’s 2002 film, The Magdalene Sisters. Indeed, there is a connection here, as Eileen Walsh also played a central role in that powerful work. The face of the convent—and, by extension, the church establishment—is portrayed by Sister Mary, played by Emily Watson. In a typically dynamic and forthright portrayal, Watson’s formidable supporting role leaves an indelible impression, delivered in just a handful of scenes. It serves as a poignant reminder of how the oppressor can maintain power within—and over—a community. Mention should also be made of the Irish actress Clare Dunne, who plays a convent nun here, following her powerful performances to date in two series of the BBC’s Irish gangland family drama, Kin.

“Turmoil”

Nevertheless, this is Cillian Murphy’s film, coming as it does in the afterglow of his Oscar-winning performance in Oppenheimer. Here, as there—and in his best-known role as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders—his skill in conveying inner emotion shines through. Sharing the screenplay writer, there is also a link with Murphy’s big-screen debut in Disco Pigs back in 2001, reprising his role from the preceding stage play.

As Bill Furlong, the challenge lies in conveying the turmoil faced by this central character through few words, amidst the tensions and pleasures of life in a close-knit community where every action is scrutinised. Here, a considerable amount of reflective staring into the distance serves as his thoughts are mulled over incessantly. It is a testament to Murphy’s skill that this never seems repetitive or dull. It is a performance that remains with the viewer long after the closing credits have rolled. If you like your story and characters fully explained and interpreted, this may not be the film for you. Even so, from a slim story, a great deal is wrought on screen in what is a memorable—and haunting—movie.