Small Things Like These (film)

Small Things Like These is a 2024 historical drama film directed by Tim Mielants and adapted by Enda Walsh from the 2021 novel by Claire Keegan. The film stars Cillian Murphy (who also serves as a producer), Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Emily Watson, Clare Dunne, and Helen Behan. An international co-production between Ireland and Belgium, its plot focuses on the infamous Magdalene laundries in Ireland.
Small Things Like These had its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on 15 February 2024, and was released in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 1 November 2024. It received positive reviews from critics.
Christmas 1985 approaches. Coal merchant Bill Furlong, who is regarded as a fair and hard-working man from the Irish town of New Ross, is a father of five girls. In flashbacks, Bill revisits his difficult childhood as the son of a young single mother, ostracized by her family but permitted to work for Mrs. Wilson, a wealthy and independent landowner. One day he sets off on his deliveries earlier than expected. When he opens the coal shed of the local convent, he discovers a teenage girl, Sarah, locked in the shed in freezing temperatures. The girl says she will have to give birth there in five months. Bill brings Sarah to the convent where the nuns pretend to take care of her. Sarah and Bill are led into the cozy office of Sister Mary, the convent's Mother Superior. Here, Sarah feels compelled to falsely claim she was locked in the shed by other girls while playing hide-and-seek.
After Sarah is led away, Sister Mary ominously asks Bill about his family, as both Bill's wife Eileen and Bill's eldest daughter Kathleen attended the school run by the nuns. She strongly implies that if he speaks about what he has seen she could prevent his younger daughters from attending the school. She then writes a Christmas card, inserts in the card a "gift" of cash, writes "Eileen" on the envelope, seals the envelope, and presents it to Bill. Bill takes it, and returns home more troubled than before, omitting to give the envelope to Eileen. Later Eileen asks Bill about the card, as she has met Sister Mary who told her about it. Bill gives the sealed envelope to Eileen, who is surprised to find the "gift" and wonders why Bill didn't give the envelope to her, a question that he dismisses by saying that he forgot.
Bill later visits the local pub whose owner, Mrs. Kehoe, advises Bill to toe the line and not speak out about the convent and what's going on, because of the nuns' social influence. One evening Bill goes to buy his wife a Christmas present, and on the way home sees a gift he always wanted as a child. He then walks to the convent, and opens the coal shed to find Sarah again. Bill slowly wins her reluctance dictated by fear, and walks her out of the shed and off the convent's premises. Slowly walking past acquaintances in full view, he eventually carries the ailing girl to his home. Bill welcomes her into the hearth of his family, finally smiling to show her she is safe.
The film closes with a dedication to the female victims of the Magdalene laundries, which ran from 1922 to 1998.
During filming of Christopher Nolan's drama Oppenheimer, co-stars Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon struck up a conversation during the shoot, in which Murphy pitched his next project to Damon: an adaptation of Claire Keegan's 2021 novella Small Things Like These. Coincidentally, Damon (alongside his longtime friend and business partner Ben Affleck) had recently launched a production company, Artists Equity, and asked Murphy if he would like to join the project to produce, which he was eager to do. It was reported in March 2023 that Murphy, Affleck and Damon would produce the film via Artists Equity, with Damon producing alongside Drew Vinton and Jeff Robinov, and Affleck executive producing with Kevin Halloran and Michael Joe; Murphy produced alongside Alan Moloney via their production company Big Things Films. Ciarán Hinds and Emily Watson were announced to be joining Murphy in the cast. The project was revealed to be directed by Tim Mielants, from a script by Enda Walsh. The film is an Irish production with additional funding coming from Screen Ireland and was co-produced with Wilder Content in Belgium.
The Irish Independent reported in late 2022 and early 2023 that shooting locations for a film of the book were being sought in New Ross, County Wexford. Deadline Hollywood reported in March 2023 that principal photography was under way, with filming in County Wicklow expected to last for four weeks.
The film had its world premiere on 15 February 2024 at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. In June 2024, Lionsgate acquired distribution rights to the film for North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, teaming up with Roadside Attractions for the American release. It was released in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 1 November 2024, and the United States a week later on 8 November.
Small Things like These received positive reviews upon release. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 102 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Cillian Murphy's outstanding acting anchors Small Things Like These, elevating an occasionally enervating historical drama." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Ben Croll from TheWrap called the film a "modest gem". Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars and described it as an "absorbing, committed drama", stating: "I was so rapt, so caught up in this film, that I wasn't aware that it was going to be the ending until the screen faded to black." James Mottram from Radio Times also gave the film four out of five stars and called it an "understated drama that's miniature in scale but not ambition". Tim Robey from The Telegraph described it as "a tight-lipped Irish drama even more suffused with sadness than the log-line implies, and shouldered with hypnotic grace by a very special Cillian Murphy". Guy Lodge from Variety praised Murphy's performance, describing him as the film's "live emotional current" and saying that "Small Things Like These rests on both his quiet and his disquiet as an actor".
David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter called the film a moving, "somber, unhurried drama" and appreciated Murphy and Watson's performances. Jonathan Romney from Screen Daily highlighted Murphy and Walsh's performances, Mielants's direction and Walsh's writing, which is "largely faithful" to the novel. Rachel Pronger from IndieWire called the film a "subtler, a genuinely profound low-key gem" and appreciated Walsh's writing and Murphy, Watson and Walsh's performances. Stephanie Bunbury from Deadline Hollywood lamented the film's lack of "dramatic tension", but appreciated Watson's performance. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Robert Daniels noted that the film has "a promising premise that loses some steam in the final half hour".
The film received nine nominations at the Irish Film and Television Awards in January 2025.