Small Things Like These

A slow burn movie about the Magdalene Laundries where originally prostitutes were used for slave labor, but also other cases were sent to these institutions that grew too powerful for people in the community to push back. It's a bit too short and would benefit with more backstory and an extension towards the future with reparations that were eventually provided.

I thought the story was slow and hard to follow at times, but the film was beautifully shot and Cillian Murphy absolutely shines in it. I definitely recommend it for drama fans!

We only stuck with it due to Cillian Murphy. Ultimately a story that goes no where and really misses the point trying to pay tribute to the institutionalized girls.

The story of the laundries is true, but the film, for an Irish person, feels completely inauthentic for how the town is portrayed. Dexys Midnight Runners in the first few minutes and later Dangermouse on the TV are the only indications that this is supposed to be the 1980s. It feels more like they found some leftover sets from Angela's Ashes and didn't want to waste them. The 1950s scenes at the Wilsons actually felt more up to date. Surprised some of the Irish didn't take the Belgian production team to task. After a while, everything just got more and more annoying. Icing on the cake : snow for Christmas in the county of Ireland that's the least likely to see snow in what is traditionally called the Sunny Southeast.

Brilliantly understated performances—in a well-crafted visual presentation—tell a powerful story. Well done.

The trailer had me a little confused. I thought we would be seeing a film about 'the Troubles' affecting Ireland, something akin to Cal where a man is forced into supporting the IRA. This slowly unravelled to show another horror of the Emerald Isle, the barbarism of the Magdalene Laundries. What it didn't say was more powerful than the stark images on the screen. The corruption of the church, the terrifying power it wields. In today's unsettled world, it begs to ask the question, is it acceptable to keep looking the other way or standing up for what's right?

Cillian Murphy's return post-Oppenheimer in Enda Walsh's adaptation of Claire Keegan's book, Small Things Like These, is a quiet and soulful affair. Playing Bill, a kind and initially borderline stoic coal merchant and family man who suffers from insomnia rooted in his tragic past, the first act artistically and succinctly sets up his character before he's confronted, over a deliberate Christmas period of goodwill to all men (and women), with an unsettling secret the local convent, run by a superbly menacing nun played by Emily Watson (making her second appearance on my flight), is hiding. The rest of the film is then focused on what, if anything, will Bill's reaction be to this discovery. Shot by Belgian director Tim Mielants and Dutch cinematographer Frank van den Eeden like a very downbeat Irish Hovis ad, this can be a frustratingly slow and mannered film where characters shed only but a single tear in its outright condemnation on what's happening on-screen. So it's to Murphy's credit that his compelling presence ensures this never becomes the agonizingly miserable slog that it could've been. Best viewed as a sombre but hopeful character study which mirrors the beginning of a shift in public opinion when one man decides to make a change, it's a film that's authentic and well-meaning but perhaps also too subtle and understating for my liking, especially when that abrupt ending could really do with some bolstering from other people's reactions to his compassionate decision.

All the things people passionately hate about this film are the things that made it great. It's slow for a reason. It doesn't overshare for a reason. I loved the pace, the acting, the dark cinematography and all the small hints at abject poverty placed around the film. I think if you have a lower than average sense of empathy and compassion for others it's probably not for you.

This movie was powerfully performed and written, as well as captivatingly shot and edited. It was narratively beautiful and made me sympathize with the characters. However, the issue presented in the film seems rather toned down in the sense that it underrepresented the severity of the abuse, and the problem as a whole. The film also did end rather abruptly all things considered. 7.9/10

A slow yet tense film, featuring a moving performance by Murphy that leaves you uneasy. The cinematography is grim and dark, perfectly matching the theme — I especially liked the lighting.