What It’s About
In mid-eighties Ireland, coal merchant Bill Furlong (Murphy) witnesses an adolescent girl being dragged into the local convent. The father of five daughters, Bill cannot forget, though wife Eileen (Walsh) suggests it’s better to try. He decides to investigate what’s going on behind the convent walls, but encounters stiff resistance from gatekeeper Sister Mary (Watson). Will Bill ever be able to help that girl?
Why We Love It
Though never specifically mentioned, Mielants’ arresting film focuses on the notorious Magdalene laundries in Ireland, where for decades pregnant, unwed teens were sent to have their babies and toil unpaid in sweatshop conditions. In stark contrast to Murphy’s showier turn in “Oppenheimer”, his Bill is a taciturn, ordinary man whose conscience forces him to act even as so many others turn away. It’s a restrained, controlled performance largely delivered through posture and facial expression. Watson is also superb as the head nun, a study in ice-cold malevolence. A slow-build drama that gets under your skin, “Small Things” is a very big deal.