Small Things Like These

A movie review by Alex First

Cloaked in mystery, Small Things Like These is an atmospheric, heartfelt elegy featuring a phenomenal leading performance from Cillian Murphy.

He plays Bill Furlong, a hard-working coal and fuel merchant in a town called New Ross in Wexford, Ireland, in the lead-up to Christmas 1985.

Married with five daughters, he is a man of few words but deep thoughts.

He hasn’t led an easy life. He sleeps in fits and starts, and his past comes back to haunt him.

His mother, Sarah (Agnes O’Casey), was an unmarried teenager who was ostracised by her family.

Still, she was allowed to continue to work as a maid for well-to-do employer Mrs Wilson (Michelle Fairley).

Young Bill (Louis Kirwan) is respectful, even though he doesn’t have much, but is disappointed when his wish for a simple puzzle isn’t granted one Christmas.

As an adult, the local convent is among his run delivering coal and fuel, where he has witnessed some harsh goings on.

That includes seeing young, deprived-looking women going about their business, one of whom pleads with him to take her away.

Then, one day, he comes across a dishevelled pregnant woman, Sarah (Zara Devlin), locked in an outbuilding. She appears traumatised.

Two of Bill’s daughters attended the school run by the nuns, with others to follow.

So, it is that the Mother Superior (Emily Watson) tries to sugarcoat what Bill witnessed.

His wife, Eileen (Eileen Walsh), too, urges Bill to focus on his own family, while local pub owner, Mrs Kehoe (Helen Behan), doesn’t want him to rock the boat.

But he can’t let matters lie.

The film finishes with a dedication to the victims of what were known as the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, which targeted so-called “fallen women.

These included orphans and victims of incest, rape, desertion and abuse, who were treated shamefully and brutalised.

Based on a historical fiction novella of the same name by Claire Keegan, published in November 2021, Small Things Like These, the movie, is a haunting experience.

Slow-moving, dour and unrelenting, it is also a considered, well-conceived and executed piece of filmmaking.

Written by Tim Mielants and directed by Enda Walsh, it requires work on the part of the audience to align the disparate threads, something I appreciated.

While the link between the young and older Bill is obvious, the rest comes together in time.

This may be the performance of Cillian Murphy’s highly regarded career. His expression, his mournful, all-seeing eyes, speak volumes. Words are all but superfluous.

Louis Kirwan, as young Bill, is also highly evocative.

Those two are the show’s stars, but the supporting cast provides the building blocks for what unfolds around them. They play their parts well.

Eileen Walsh brings pragmatism to Bill’s wife, while Emily Watson invests authority in the Mother Superior.

There is desperation in Zara Devlin as the young woman Bill finds in the shed and decency in Michelle Fairley as young Bill’s mother’s employer.

The period detail in Small Things Like These is mighty impressive.

That includes the look of the film, led by production designer Paki Smith, cinematographer Frank van den Eeden and costume designer Alison McCosh.

As shards of light fall upon the face of Cillian Murphy, I was struck by the impact of the outstanding lighting design.

His breathwork is skilfully captured in the sound design.

Small Things Like These may be a tough watch, but it is unquestionably the full package – a film well worth seeing.

Rated M, it scores an 8½ out of 10. 98 mins.