“Dedicated to the more than 56,000 young women who were sent to Magdalene institutions for ‘penance and rehabilitation’ between the years 1922 and 1998. And the children who were taken from them.”
That is the disclaimer that opens the engaging film set in 1985 starring Cillian Murphy called “Small Things Like These.”
Oscar® winner Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan.
While working as a coal merchant to support his family, he discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent — and uncovers truths of his own — forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church.
This film hit home with me in odd ways. Bill deals with coal daily delivering it to different businesses. My own birth home on the South Side used coal for heat many years ago. And each day Bill would come home all dirty, cleaning himself in the household bathroom sink.
My father worked hard at a steel mill-adjacent company; he, too, came home covered with dirt reflecting his hard day.
Back to Bill and the burden that he carries through most of the film that showed, as others have, the cruelty of Catholic institutions in boarding young women against their will—some taken there by their parents because they were with child.
He tried to go on with his life after seeing one young lady being forced into the laundry. Part of him is compelled to tell authorities, the nuns at the laundry support his family in many ways; their daughter goes to their school and another one is due to attend.
We go through Christmas time, and Bill and his family of four girls have little comforts, but he is able to make enough to purchase scant gifts.
As I mentioned, there have been other media about the sheltering of girls within Catholic-run institutions, and I’m beginning to think that nuns are the original “mean” girls.
At one time, Bill finds Sarah shivering in a shed right next to the covent; he returns her inside only to find the nuns chastising her and pretending that nothing is wrong.
Although there are a few joyous family times, the film centers on Bill as the breadwinner. At times it’s a dark film, and it seemed that the settings spoke to that. Bill often coming home after work in the dark; the scene when Sarah, the young girl at Ireland’s infamous Magdalene Laundries, is found in the shed at night—as well as the dark, murky water as Bill washes his hands.
As well, Bill is harboring odd feelings about his own childhood and being shuffled around after his mother’s death.
Well, the subject of involuntary confinement is a dark one brought to life once again.
Bill finally lets his conscience guide him at the end—essentially bringing to end any further help his family would be offered. But he can breathe easier.
In an interview, the director Tim Mielants told the Crusader that Murphy, who was celebrated as best actor in a leading role for his recent work in “Oppenheimer,” was a good choice for this role and as a producer. “Cillian was the driving force behind bringing this book to the big screen, so it made sense for him to come on board in the role of producer.”
Further, press notes revealed: “We all fell instantly in love with it [the book]. It’s such a simple story, but so profoundly moving at the same time. And we saw the passion that Cillian and his producing partner, Alan Moloney, had for making this. Honestly, we felt lucky it came to us.”
When asked about the significance of bringing these injustices to light, the director said: “If you are silent, you are complicit. This topic is an important one in society today.”
“Small Things Like These” screened at the recent Chicago International Film Festival, and is a Lionsgate release, which will come to theaters on November 8.
