We saw Cillian Murphy lifting the coveted Academy Award last year for his role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. He is also getting ready for the Peaky Blinders movie. In the meantime, Murphy returns to the big screen with Small Things Like These. Here’s what you need to know about his first post-Oppenheimer movie–
Small Things Like These Trailer Out
Small Things Like These. Image Credit: Lionsgate Movies
The official trailer for Small Things Like These, the much awaited movie starring Cillian Murphy that adapts Irish author Claire Keegan’s Booker Prize-nominated novel, has been released.
At the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, the movie had its world premiere and received overwhelmingly positive reviews. In the film, Murphy plays coal merchant and loving father Bill Furlong, who struggles with his own past and learns sinister secrets at a nearby convent. In a small Irish town, the movie examines themes of silence, guilt, and the power of the Catholic Church.
What We Can Tell From The Trailer?
Small Things Like These. Image Credit: Lionsgate Movies
The film, scripted by Enda Walsh, brings Keegan’s historical novel to life, offering a deep dive into Ireland’s painful past. Set in the small town of New Ross in 1985, the story follows Bill Furlong, portrayed by Cillian Murphy, a coal merchant who stumbles upon a disturbing truth. Furlong’s seemingly ordinary life takes a dramatic turn when he witnesses a harrowing scene at a local convent, which forces him to confront Ireland’s dark history surrounding the Magdalene laundries. These asylums, controlled by the Roman Catholic Church, housed women who were deemed “fallen” by societal standards, often facing abuse and exploitation behind closed doors.
The film skillfully examines the painful impact these institutions had on the lives of countless women and the community’s role in allowing such practices to persist.
The trailer sets the tone by introducing viewers to Bill Furlong’s quiet existence, only to quickly unravel the shocking realities that lie beneath the surface of his town. A critical moment comes when Furlong witnesses nuns forcibly taking a young girl into the convent, a visual representation of the horrors faced by women in the Magdalene laundries. This discovery forces him into a moral dilemma, pushing him to confront his own complicity in the town’s hidden injustices.
Who’s Behind The project?
Small Things Like These. Image Credit: Lionsgate Movies
Tim Mielants, renowned for his work on Peaky Blinders season three, takes the helm in directing Small Things Like These, a poignant film adaptation of Claire Keegan’s best-selling novel. Produced by the powerhouse duo Matt Damon and Ben Affleck through their Artists Equity company, the film is also notable for being the debut feature from Cillian Murphy’s newly established production company, Big Things Films. This project marks collaboration between Murphy and producer Alan Maloney, with whom he has frequently worked earlier.
The cast is equally stunning, featuring talents like Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Emily Watson, Clare Dunne, and Helen Behan, all of whom contribute to the film’s emotional depth and historical authenticity. As the narrative unfolds, it is expected to shine a light on the hidden stories of those who suffered in these asylums, offering a powerful reflection on the collective silence that allowed such atrocities to occur.
Small Things Like These promises to be more than just a historical drama. It is an exploration of guilt, complicity, and the courage it takes to confront deeply entrenched systems of oppression. Fans of Cillian Murphy and historical dramas alike will undoubtedly find this film to be a gripping and thought-provoking watch.
Small Things Like These is set to hit theaters on November 8, 2024.
Watch the trailer here:
