Small Things Like These is a movie adaptation of Claire Keegan’s acclaimed novel of the same name, which had its world premiere as the opening film of the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival.
The film, which stars Cillian Murphy as a coal merchant who uncovers a dark secret in a convent, is a powerful and poignant drama that explores the themes of morality, memory and justice in 1980s Ireland.
Small Things Like These is directed by Tim Mielants, who previously worked with Murphy on Peaky Blinders, and written by Enda Walsh, who also collaborated with Murphy on several stage plays. The film also features Emily Watson, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley and Zara Devlin in supporting roles.
Keegan’s Booker Prize shortlisted novel, which was published in 2020, tells the story of Bill Furlong, a coal merchant who lives in a small town in County Wexford with his wife and daughters.
One Christmas, he delivers coal to a convent, where he witnesses the horrific conditions of the young women who are forced to work in the laundry. He realizes that the convent is part of the notorious Magdalene Laundries, the church-run institutions that exploited and abused thousands of unmarried mothers and their children.
Bill’s discovery triggers a crisis of conscience, as he has to decide whether to expose the truth or to keep silent. He also has to confront his own past, as he remembers his mother, who was an unwed mother herself, and the wealthy woman who took her in.
The novel is a gripping and moving portrait of a man who faces a moral dilemma, and of a society that is haunted by its history.
Small Things Like These is the first Irish film to open the Berlinale, and has already received 92% on Rotten Tomatoes as of the time of writing. Critics have said nothing but sing its praises since its premiere.
The film will be available for streaming on Netflix later this year.
