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Small Things Like These poster

Film · 2024

Small Things Like These

Directed by Tim Mielants · starring Amy De Bhrún, Cillian Murphy and Patrick Ryan

  • 1 h 38 min
  • 12
  • Drama · History
  • IrelandBelgium
  • Released in the UK 31 October 2024
  • 6.5 Users1 vote

Synopsis

In the frigid winter of 1985, on the eve of Christmas, Bill Furlong leads a quiet life as a coal merchant in a small and peaceful town in County Wexford, in southeastern Ireland. A father of five daughters and a devoted husband, Bill strives to support his family with dignity and hard work, fulfilling his daily routine among the houses of the town and the silent rural roads.

One morning, while making a delivery at the local convent run by Catholic nuns, Bill makes an unexpected and disturbing discovery: a young woman held in inhumane conditions in the convent's laundry, one of the notoriously infamous Magdalene Laundries. This finding rekindles memories of his own childhood marked by the compassion of a woman who raised him alone in an environment that did not forgive moral slip-ups, and confronts him with the collective silence of a community subjected to the power and influence of the Church.

As Christmas approaches, Bill must make a moral decision that could alter his quiet existence. Faced with the dilemma of protecting his family's stability or acting according to his conscience, he is forced to choose between the comfort of indifference or the courage to do what is right.

Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Claire Keegan, this intimate and moving story delicately portrays the silent struggle of an ordinary man to preserve his humanity in an environment marked by fear, institutional power, and forgetfulness.

Where to watch Small Things Like These

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Available now in the UK:

Availability checked on 8 November 2026.

The essentials

Runtime
98 min1 hour and 38 minutes
Rating
12Suitable for 12 years and over
How long is Small Things Like These?
1 hour and 38 minutes (98 minutes).
When was Small Things Like These released in the UK?
It was released in the UK on 31 October 2024.
Who directed Small Things Like These?
Tim Mielants.
Who is in Small Things Like These?
It stars Amy De Bhrún, Cillian Murphy, Patrick Ryan and Peter Claffey.
Where can I watch Small Things Like These?
In the UK it is available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video.
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Director
Tim Mielants
Writers
Enda Walsh

Photos and posters

All 11 photos

Reviews

6.5 1 vote

Trivia

  • Novel

    Cillian Murphy is a fan of the film's original novel writer Claire Keegan. He remembers reading her novel "Foster" on a train and having to pull his hoodie over his face because he was crying.

  • Matt Damon

    Cillian Murphy pitched the film to Matt Damon during the production of Oppenheimer (2023). The film ended up being produced by him and Ben Affleck under their Artists Equity banner.

  • Emily Watson

    Cillian Murphy mentioned in an interview that the idea to cast Emily Watson as Sister Mary came to him in a dream, describing her as one of his favourite performers.

  • Magdalene Laundries

    The film is dedicated to the women victims of the Magdalene Laundries, which ran from 1922 to 1998.

  • New Ross

    Much of the outdoor filming was done in the town of New Ross, Co Wexford.

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