Film No. 25. SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE (2025). 5th April.

 

Film No. 25 (2025) April 5th.  11.00 AM  LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 1,  Leederville.

"Mommy, don't make me go in there. I won't go in there!" (Bill looks on as a daughter is pushed towards the local Magdalene Laundry run by The Catholic Church).

WINNER: Best Film (Tim Mielants) Irish Film and TV Awards  (2025).

How many more films will it take for us to be convinced of the depth of Cillian Murphy's talent? Not too many more, I imagine. Here, he gives another dimension to what we already know of his talent.

From 1922 until 1998, in Ireland, there existed institutions known as the Magdalene laundries , where young, unmarried, mainly pregnant women, who had no home, or had been thrown out of home were placed, usually against their will. Yes - until 1998! This story takes place in Wexford, IRE in the early 80's. Our unsettling journey takes place with Bill Furlong (Murphy), a hard working, retail coal trader. Bill is a good man, the father of 4 loved girls but who quietly festers in his own thoughts of childhood loneliness and bullying. The laundry in Wexford, (a client of his) is a blight on his conscience. How will he find some semblance of internal peace?   

The seed for this troubling story comes from the Claire Keegan novella of the same name.  THE QUIET GIRL, Bairead's first feature story, is also a Keegan novella. They make an effective, empathetically minded storytelling team. 10GUMS.