Cinema for Brunch SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE Review

Cillian Murphy delivers an excellent performance in the meaningful but languid character drama “Small Things Like These”.

Synopsis

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.

Review
Making a character-driven piece can be tricky because as a filmmaker, you’re dependent on two things: the actors who play the central characters have to be compelling enough to carry an entire film and the audience has to be willing to forego or put story in order to follow these characters. Based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Claire Keegan, Tim Mielants’ “Small Things Like These” excels on one hand – churning an excellent character-driven performance from Cillian Murphy; but lacks on the other – delivering a character-driven piece whose plot is not as strong as its central subject. Set in the 1980s, “Small Things” follows coal merchant Bill Furlong, a hardworking husband and father of five who discovers troubling secrets of a local convent while dropping off a delivery. As Bill confronts “Ghosts of Christmas past” demons of his own, he finds himself at a crossroads where he will either have to take action with the disturbing things he’s seen or stay complicit like everyone else in his small Irish town.

As slim as its story details may be, Bill Furlong is the perfect character for a character-driven film like this – a quiet, hardworking man whose small facial expressions or laconic dialogue speaks volumes. An earlier scene to note is a moment where Bill runs into a young man who goes to school with one of his daughters. The young boy walks alongside the road, looking a bit troubled, Bill pulls over to the side, walks up to the young man and simply asks “You alright?” A simple question at first, but for a quiet man like Bill who carries his own childhood demons, it’s important for him to know if this kid is indeed “alright”. A short scene that isn’t really referenced at any other time in the film (sans a quick exchange between Bill and one of his daughters), it’s a “telling-through-showing” scene that paints Bill as a character that knows when something is wrong. He notices the small things or aberrances in society that most of us don’t. His pull towards the marginalized (or silenced) voices of his community brings him on his converged path with Sarah (Zara Devlin), a troubled young woman that wishes to escape from the local convent that holds young “fallen women” (based on the infamous Magdalene Laundries in Ireland). This disruption in Bill’s routine puts him into a place where he is tempted to take action, do something or at the very least, say something.

As Cillian Murphy’s layered performance exemplifies Bill’s internal battle with brilliant facial expressions and miniscule movements, the film periodically takes us back to Bill’s traumatic childhood, further making a case for why this family man carries so much inside and says so little. Another standout in the cast is the brilliant Emma Watson, whose performance of Sister Mary, the corrupt “Mother superior” of the convent is chilling. Not taking up much screen time in the film, her key scene, involving an exchange between her and an intimidated Bill, is one of excellent acting and direction. As Sister Mary interrogates and delivers disguised threats towards Bill, Watson keeps her steely gaze on Cillian as he slowly shrinks in his seat, echoing the angry, traumatized young boy that the film keeps echoing back to throughout. It’s a pitch-perfect moment of character and plot meeting in beautiful bliss through dialogue and action.

Pitch-perfect moments aside, “Small Things Like These” soars well on Cillian Murphy’s performance but struggles to find the perfect footing in other areas. As director Tim Mielants shrewdly focuses on what is not said with Bill’s dialogue (Cillian’s performance) rather than what is (Enda Walsh’s lean script), that trick can only work so far. When you rely on performance and character talking precedent over story, it can deliver a mixed bag of results. “Small Things Like These” is not a bad film by any means but it’s not really a film that needs to exist at its particular length. 98 minutes is not long by any stretch but for a character-driven tale like this that doesn’t have much happening throughout, this could’ve easily been a short film under 60 minutes and would’ve carried twice as much impact as a result.

Closing Thoughts
“Small Things Like These” is a great showcase for Cillian Murphy’s talents and can be added to the list of great subtle performances in cinema. However, as a full-length film, there is much to be desired with its character-driven story. As Murphy, Watson and others in the cast deliver great understated work, performances are not enough to justify “Small Things Like These” as a whole. While the central themes of corruption and inaction are compelling on paper, the film’s two halves – Bill’s conflicted internal journey and Bill’s decision to stand up or stand down – doesn’t always converge well sans a couple scenes. Less fluff and more brevity would make a compelling story like this much more powerful.

Trailer