Small Things like These (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – In 1985 devoted father Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers shocking truths of his own.

My Take – While history has its fair share of horrific incidents involving religious institutions using their influence in the worst way possible, there are certain parts of it which are simply just difficult to comprehend. Specifically, the inhumanity behind it. More surprising, considering these places are supposed to be places of worship and houses of God.

Such was the case of the infamous Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, which ran from 1922 to 1998. Initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that housed supposedly troubled women, mostly unmarried and some pregnant, who were sent there by their families to give birth and lose their child into forced adoption. But during their stay, they were used as cheap labor by the nuns who ran these places. Sometimes, they were also physically abused and mistreated.

However, this latest look into one of those troubling times takes a different approach by working as a quiet character study about a middle-class man who upon getting a closer look at the long-ignored abusive situation found himself grappling with his conscience, as to whether he should, or even could, do anything about it.

Adapted by writer Enda Walsh from Claire Keegan’s 2021 novella of the same name and directed by Tim Mielants, this is a less-is-more kind of film, with an effective set of dialogue and a sense of oppressiveness that frequently overwhelms its simplicity. As the screenplay mostly implies rather than states, forcing the audience to interpret its events in order to fully understand the narrative.

Yes, it’s not the most entertaining film in the world, is generally rather slow and its narrative initially feels somewhat skewed, but ultimately it ends up being a rewarding and distinct effort with a creeping power that can’t quite be denied.

At the center of the feature is producer and star Cillian Murphy, who fresh from his best actor Oscar win for Oppenheimer (2023) puts in some phenomenal work and is able to convey a complete character arc with very little dialogue and even less exposition. Ensuring that we stay absorbed and committed to the 98 minute long drama.

Set in 1985 in the Irish town of New Ross, the story follows Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy), a coal merchant, who along with being a devoted husband to his wife Eileen (Eileen Walsh) and a caring father to his five girls that make up the chirpy harmony of his home, is well regarded as a fair and hard-working man. But that wasn’t the case before as Bill was born out of wedlock and into shame.Even though his life is fine now, or at least an improvement on what went before, he remains melancholic and still struggles.

To further complicate his mental turmoil, one winter morning he discovers a young woman named Sarah (Zara Devlin) in the shed outside the local Magdalene laundry run by Sister Mary (Emily Watson), the Mother superior of the convent. Though what happens in these correctional institutions is common knowledge, and unchallenged, in a community where no-one rocks the boat, least of all against the church; after all, these same nuns are also educating their children.

But the sight of her suffering shakes his conscience to life, triggering both compassion and empathy, casting his thoughts back to his childhood, when his young single mother (Agnes O’Casey) was afforded far more sympathy and support, by a Protestant woman (Michelle Fairley) who took her and her young son in all those years ago.

From here on, the narrative doesn’t go as one would expect. Mainly as this isn’t a tale of grand heroism; it’s a slow, contemplative unraveling of one man’s conscience as he weighs the barriers in his path, the responsibility to his family, the financial strains, and the suffocating silence of his community. Here, director Mielants and writer Walsh play out their story as a halting study in human decency, taking the high road in hesitant steps as it pits a timid coal merchant against am influential unblinking mother superior.

Making it incredibly relevant in today’s society, essentially making the case that we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to suffering just because it’s easier and expected. It implores subtlety that one should help in whatever small way they can, and that an act of kindness itself courage.

Indeed, this is not a traditionally satisfying film as Furlong doesn’t get to make a huge show of defiance and doesn’t contain any last-act repercussions for the sinister sisters of the Magdalene laundry. But it shows that an individual can carve out space for a matter of conscience, and escape a conspiracy of silence or of their own fears.

Other than that director Mielants, whose credits include FX’s Legion and the first season of AMC’s horror anthology, The Terror, has a firm handle on the material that never falters. Dramatically, the film’s strongest scene involves Bill’s first effort at an intervention, in the convent, which pits him against the formidable Sister Mary, who sits the man down before a roaring fire, with a cup of tea and piece of fruit cake, before handing him a Christmas card stuffed with obvious hush cash.

It helps that Cillian Murphy is equally effective in his portrayal of someone fighting an internal war. Murphy’s performance of a troubling soul is heart wrenching with nuances captured aptly by his close-ups. Emily Watson is typically terrific, effectively demonstrating the value of less as more. Eileen Walsh, Zara Devlin, Michelle Fairley, Helen Behan, Agnes O’Casey and Mark McKenna also shine in their respective supporting roles. On the whole, ‘Small Things like These‘ is an important quite yet absorbing drama bolstered by Cillian Murphy’s piercingly committed performance.