Synopsis

Small Things Like These takes place over Christmas in 1985, when devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy) discovers startling secrets kept by the convent in his town, along with some shocking truths of his own. The film reveals truths about Ireland’s Magdalene laundries — horrific asylums run by Roman Catholic institutions from the 1820s until 1996, ostensibly to reform “fallen young women.” Adapted from the Booker Prize nominated novel by Claire Keegan.

Critics Views

Part of the power of Small Things Like These lies in its Trojan horse nature. This is a political allegory disguised as a character study, a reflection on national guilt and moral complicity, wrapped inside the experiences of one man, in one small town, standing in for the whole of Ireland, and possibly the world.
IndieWire

It’s Murphy’s exquisitely pained performance, unclenching by fine degrees into something like grace, that gives Small Things Like These its eventual, fist-in-the-gut power, even as the film evades melodramatic confrontation to the last, ending elegantly at a point where many other stories might choose to begin.
Variety

Keegan’s book was a small masterpiece and so in its way is the film, sensitively adapted by playwright Enda Walsh, gently directed by Tim Mielants, and led beautifully, heartrendingly, by the splendid Murphy
Daily Mail

2024 Nominee Golden Berlin Bear :
Best Film

2024 Winner Silver Berlin Bear Best Supporting Performance:
Emily Watson

Film Rating

IMDb
 Critics: 82%  Audience 73%

Rotten Tomatoes
Critics positive review 96%   Audience Liked It 81%

 Stockbridge Audience Score: 87%

Audience Comments

Quietly understated, and thus so powerful.
Beautifully filmed
Cillian Murphy’s performance superb; cinematography equally so.
So much of the film was between the lines. Thought provoking, and superbly cast.
Poor diction was a frequent problem
Sound track muffled, accents difficult to decipher
Not as good as the book.
Couldn’t make out the dialogue. Needed subtitles
Extraordinarily moving. The periods without dialogue and silent were so weighted. Wonderful acting, so sensitive and Cilian’s eyes
Rarely have so few words been so powerful. Compelling performances by Murphy and Watson. Vivid and atmospheric, sometimes unsettling, filming of location. Hard to credit as recent as 1985.
A very good screen adaptation of a difficult book. The complexity of the character was conveyed so well by Cillian Murphy. Terrible times ! The Catholic Church at its ugliest
A powerful emotionally felt and yet quietly confident film, beautifully made and well considered performances from all the cast
thought provoking but there could have been more dialogue.
Not overly uplifting
Very interesting. Could have benefited with sub-titles!
I want to see the sequel to find out what happened next!
Brilliantly acted and very moving.
The story was rather opaque until the penny dropped about the flashbacks – not obvious. Also Cillian Murphy mumbles which didn’t help!
Great camera work. If you weren’t depressed before you went to watch – you were when you came out!
Very slow and drawn out
Very poignant. Deep and sad.
The cosy home town warmth contrasted with the cold reality of magalden Laundry really well and of course we “Am Drammers” can only bow to the incredible performace by CM
It was even more powerful, I think, for being shown close up in a fairly small, confined space
Very moving and true to the book. Brilliant casting.
Beautifully filmed and very true to the novel.
Slow start and continued in the same vein. Hard to hear some of the dialogue (a mixture of the Irish accent and unclear delivery) but a good film despite that.
Even better the second time