Irish actor Cillian Murphy is set to star in Tim Mielants’ upcoming film, opening this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. The movie, Small Things Like These, is based on author Claire Keegan’s 2021 book and set in 1980s Ireland. Murphy plays Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and devoted father, who begins to uncover unsettling truths about the Magdalene Laundries, which were run by the Catholic church, housing mainly sex workers. The film also boasts a strong cast, including Ciaran Hinds, Emily Watson, Michelle Fairley and Eileen Walsh, who starred in the 2002 feature The Magdalene Sisters.
Producing alongside Alan Moloney, Murphy also starred in the movie under the banner of their company, Big Things Films. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were among the film’s other producers, along with Kevin Halloran and Michael Joe, who produced Air. The Berlinale kicks off on February 15 and runs until February 25, with Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian lauding Small Things Like These as “quiet” but “exceptional” and anticipated it would “resonate with everyone.”
Regarding Keegan, the director compared Small Things Like These to her previous work Foster, adapted into the feature The Quiet Girl. The movie was the first Irish film in history to receive a nomination for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. The Berlin Festival came after Murphy missed out on the Critics Choice Award for Best Actor.
Small Things Like These tells an emotionally gripping story of people’s resilience and need for kindness in the face of challenges, delivered through Keegan’s delicate, beauty-laden writing, which Mielants says he interprets through Murphy’s performance. Combining authentic characters with simple yet unforgettable stories, the film aims to create a sense of profound, lasting impact. This latest film comes amid increasing clamour for Murphy following the huge success of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” in which he played J. Robert Oppenheimer
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