Image via Lionsgate
There is a melancholy to Small Things Like These that seeps through the pores. Adapted from Claire Keegan’s novel and anchored by an understated performance from Cillian Murphy, it tackles topics of complicity within a small Irish community. At the centre of this village sits a Magdelene institute, where pregnant girls out of wedlock are taken for penance and rehabilitation. Their suffering is overshadowed by a religious zeal that holds the locals hostage, robbing them of their right to question God’s will. Blind to the punishments being perpetrated for a so-called salvation from damnation, Small Things Like These becomes an intimate character study in emotional repression.
Directed by Tim Mielants, this understated indie film questions traditions and beliefs handed down through generations. Cillian Murphy shows restraint, carving his character from decades of repressed rage. Bill Furlong is resigned to life, surrounded by a young family and loving wife. However, when he discovers a young girl cowering in the coal shed outside the Magdelene institute, something inside him snaps. Feelings that have lain dormant for decades, unleashed by the persecution and punishment of girls little older than his own family. Conveyed in glances between a husband and wife, Eileen Walsh does some of the heavy lifting opposite Cillian Murphy as his wife Eileen. Torn between the herd mentality that refuses to condemn this institution, and his fundamental belief that the treatment is inhumane, Bill struggles to find a middle ground.
Image via Lionsgate
Produced by Matt Damon through Artists Equity, a company he owns with Ben Affleck, Small Things Like These falls into a similar category to Spotlight. Just as the Michael Keaton film tackled sexual abuse among altar boys in Boston, here another dubious practice is exposed for debate. Between 1922 and 1989 56,000 girls went through institutes like the one depicted, having their children taken away at birth. What comes through in the officious portrayal of Sister Mary by Emily Watson is an unwavering belief that such things were justified. With tear stained faces and racking cries echoing off the walls of Magdelene, Bill is taken through to sit by the fire. Trapped by his own trauma and the knowledge that turning away from this religious order will destroy him, Bill allows the silence to engulf him.
Without being melodramatic, it is fair to say that Small Things Like These is no easy watch. Cillian Murphy and a flawless ensemble cast offer up a domestic drama with real world relevance, that hits home without preaching from the pulpit. It shines a light into the darkness around religious doctrine and asks audiences to question where they stand on certain issues. Delving into the blinkered attitudes of people defined through tradition, who would rather turn a blind eye than risk repercussions from family and friends.
Small Things Like These is on digital platforms now and Blu-ray and DVD 3 February