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Exclusive: Maya Hawke is set to play Lucia Joyce opposite Rhys Ifans as her father, the Irish writer James Joyce, in Aisling Walsh’s psychological drama biopic Lucia, which was written by Michael Kinirons.

The Veterans have boarded sales on the feature for a Cannes market launch.

The biopic is based on the life of Lucia Joyce, the talented but troubled daughter of James Joyce, who was briefly the lover of Samuel Beckett.

Hawke has amassed a veteran’s resume as an actor in less than a decade, working with auteurs such as Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Gia Coppola, while also starring in Netflix’s TV show Stranger Things. Her other credits include Inside Out 2 (as the voice of Anxiety), Wildcat, which she starred in and co-produced, Maestro, The Good Lord Bird, Little Women, and more.

Ifans was seen most recently in Inheritance and House of the Dragon...

Exclusive: Michelle Dockery andEva Birthistle have joined Imelda Staunton in the cast of Ita Fitzgerald’s UK-Ireland dramaWest The Roadfor Bankside Films.

Produced by Matthew James Wilkinson and Jamie Harvey for the UK’s Stigma Films and John Wallace of Ireland’s Cowtown Pictures, the filmwill start shooting in western Ireland later this year. It marks the feature debut of Fitzgerald, an Irish writer-director based in London, who began her career in TV.

Charlie Murphy and Philippa Dunne have also joined the cast.

Bankside has pre-sold the film to Benelux (Paradiso), Bulgaria (Beta), former Yugoslavia (McF), Eastern Europe (HBO), Israel...

“Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get,” said Forrest Gump. This sentiment rings true when it comes to movies, too.

We mean, we’re talking about those days where you hop from one adventure to the next, with no map nor plan, just following the flow like a leaf in the wind. Now, imagine that kind of unpredictable thrill happening right from the comfort of your couch. If movies were a ride, this list would be the kind that keeps you buckled in tight, taking you from soul-stirring drama to mind-bending sci-fi, all in a single night. There is no need for a parachute or seatbelt, though—just a bucket of popcorn and a TV remote.

A still from Deadpool & Wolverine | Credits: Marvel Studios

Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how MCU’s Doctor Strange would explain it, but you get the gist.

Cillian Murphy has been named Best Lead Actor in the film category of the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) for the second year running.

Following his win last year for Oppenheimer (which went on to bag him the Oscar), Murphy won for his role in the film Small Things Like These.

The film, an adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novella, also won Best Film.

Complete Winners List Below

An Irish-language film about Belfast rap group Kneecap was nominated in 17 award categories. The film’s director Rich Peppiatt won best director in the film category, and it was also recognised in casting and costume design.

At the ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, Friday evening, Saoirse Ronan was a double winner, taking home Best Lead Actress for The Outrun and Best Supporting Actress for The Blitz.

Ralph Fiennes and Demi Moore were winners in the international acting categories for Conclave and The Substance respectively.

Small Things Like These, an Irish drama starring Cillian Murphy as a coal merchant and father haunted by secret abuses in a local convent sanctioned by the Catholic Church, beat out Kneecap, the hip-hop comedy featuring Michael Fassbender, to win the best film honor at the Irish Film & Television Awards 2025 during a ceremony held in Dublin on Friday. Saoirse Ronan left with two awards (the lead actress honor for her role in The Outrun and the supporting actress trophy for Blitz). Murphy won the best actor IFTA for his work in Small Things Like These. Demi Moore (The Substance) and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) were honored in the international acting categories, and Colin Farrell (The Penguin) and Sharon Horgan (for writing Bad Sisters) earned TV statuettes.

Rich Peppiatt received the best director IFTA for Kneecap, which follows the West Belfast hip-hop trio of the same name on their mission to save their mother tongue.

Kneecap is leading the charge at this year’s Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) awards, with 17 nominations across 12 categories.

Rich Peppiatt’s feature about the eponymous Irish-language Belfast hip hop act is on an awards season roll, having led the winners at the Bifas back in December with seven awards, as well as having been shortlisted at the Oscars in the international feature category, and being longlisted in seven categories at the Baftas (with nominations announced tomorrow).

Scroll down for the full list of film nominations

Tim Mielants’ Small Things Like These, an Ireland-Belgium co-production that opened the Berlin film festival last year,...

“Kneecap” — the Irish-language music biopic that became one of the buzziest indie films of 2024 and is now tipped for both Oscar and BAFTA recognition — has, perhaps unsurprisingly, emerged far ahead of the pack of nominees for the 2025 Irish Film & TV Academy (IFTA) awards.

Rich Peppiatt’s raucous comedy, about (and starring) the Belfast rap trio of the same name, has landed an astonishing 17 nominations for the awards, including best film, director, three of the six slots for lead actor, three of the six for supporting actress and one for Michael Fassbender in the supporting actor category.

“Small Things Like These,” the considerably quieter Irish drama fronted (and produced) by Cillian Murphy has nine nominations, including lead actor for Murphy, who won the award last year for “Oppenheimer.”

Having been co-produced by Irish company Tailored Films, Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” is also in the mix, with four nominations.

Nominations are out for the 2025 Irish Film & Television Awards with the Cillian Murphy drama Small Things Like These and the music comedy Kneecap among the tipped films. Scroll down for the full list of nominees.

Small Things Like These has nods in Best Screenplay, Lead Actor for Murphy, and Best Film. Other Best Film nominees include Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, King Frankie, and Kneecap.

Kneecap has a strong showing across the noms, with nods in Best Director for Rich Peppiatt and all three of the film’s leads pop up in Best Actor. Paul Mescal also received a Best Actor nomination for his role in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II.

On the TV side, Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters is nominated for Best Drama while the Eddie Redmayne thriller The Day of the Jackal has multiple noms, including Best Director for a Drama Series.

The Irish Film & Television Academy...

Cillian Murphy found working with Eileen Walsh on ‘Small Things Like These’ to be a “huge advantage”.The 48-year-old actor plays Bill Furlong in the film and he had a natural rapport with his co-star, who portrays wife Eileen, because of their friendship outside of work, though he admitted that sometimes caused problems during “heavy scenes” when they couldn’t contain their laughter.He told Britain’s Hello! Magazine:” It was a huge advantage. Having someone you’ve known for that long opposite you means you already have that trust.,“It’s also a lot of fun to work with your friend and Eileen is great.“She makes me laugh, which was sometimes a problem if we were doing a really heavy scene together.”The Oscar-winning star also served as a producer on the project and he was thrilled to be so hands-on with the movie.He said: “I love all of it.

“Small Things Like This” is a drama movie starring Cillian Murphy with Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, and Emily Watson.

“Small Things Like This” is an Irish drama that plunges viewers into a world of pervasive melancholy. Set in County Wexford, Ireland, the film stars Cillian Murphy in a role that demands his full dramatic range.

The narrative follows Bill Furlong, a man whose encounter with a girl in a nearby convent forces him to confront his traumatic past. This discovery serves as a catalyst, unraveling the threads of Furlong’s life and the societal fabric around him.

Murphy’s portrayal of Furlong is central to the film’s impact. His performance carries the weight of the character’s inner turmoil, often conveying more through silent expressions than dialogue. The actor’s presence dominates the screen, overshadowing the supporting cast in a way that feels intentional rather than unbalanced.

Visually, “Small...

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the scripts behind awards season’s most talked-about movies continues with Small Things Like These, Cillian Murphy’s first film after winning the Oscar for his starring role in Christopher Nolan’s Best Picture-winning Oppenheimer.

Enda Walsh, the Tony Award-winning Irish playwright and director, adapted the script for the film from Claire Keegan’s 2021 Booker Prize-nominated novel, which was selected as a final Oprah’s Book Club Pick in 2024. The book itself might seem short at 128 pages, but the story is rich within the context of the silent complicity of Ireland in the 1980s.

The film, directed by Tim Mielants, opened in the U.S. on November 8 after it world premiered earlier in the year as the opening-night film at the Berlin Film Festival. Emily Watson, who plays a formidable nun, won the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Actress at the festival. Eileen Walsh,...

The Cillian Murphy-Led Historical Drama Small Things Like These. (Photo Credit – Instagram)

So, who’s been counting down the days for Small Things Like These? Cillian Murphy’s latest flick is finally here, and trust me, it’s worth the hype. Based on Claire Keegan’s novel, this movie will hit you right in the feels with its blend of hope, quiet heroism, and raw emotion. It dropped in theaters on November 1, just in time for the weekend—perfect for your movie plans.

In this one, Cillian plays Bill Furlong, who stumbles on some dark secrets while delivering coal to a local convent. He finds a terrified girl named Sarah locked away, begging for help. It turns out that her story is eerily similar to Bill’s past. Her name even matches his mom’s—talk about creepy. As Bill digs deeper, trying to figure out what’s happening,...

After his Oscar-winning, pitch-perfect role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, people have been eagerly awaiting Cillian Murphy’s next role. Instead of taking on something big to follow up the near $1 billion grossing, Best Picture winner, Murphy has instead chosen to go smaller – much, much smaller in Small Things Like These. This film tells an appropriately small, intimate story that works mostly as a showcase for Murphy’s acting ability, which is just as sharp as before.

Small Things Like These Review

Small Things is a co-production of Artists Equity, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, and Big Things FIlms, Cillian Murphy’s brand new company. Serving as the first project of which Murphy has produced, this film has a particularly special feeling to it.

An adaptation of Claire Keegan’s 2021 novel, this follows Bill Furlong (Murphy), a coal merchant living in a small Irish town in the mid-80s.

This review was originally published on October 22, 2024, as a part of our Middleburg Film Festival coverage.

Based on the novel by Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These is a quietly profound and meaningful film that shows us the story as it unfolds rather than tells it. Through well-placed flashbacks and a kind-hearted protagonist in Cillian Murphys Bill Furlong, director Tim Mielants film is not only a loyal movie adaptation thanks to Enda Walshs lovely script but a poignant story about the way the threat of powerful institutions keeps people from saying or doing anything to help out of fear. Mielants film does a lot with little dialogue, setting the stage for something rich and thought-provoking.

Small Things Like These

Director Tim MielantsRelease Date November 8, 2024Writers Claire Keegan, Enda WalshCast Faye Brazil, Sarah Morris, Louis Kirwan, Liadan Dunlea, Aoife Gaffney, Zara Devlin, Aidan O'Hare, Cillian O'Gairbhi, Tom Leavey, Joanne Crawford, Clare Dunne,...

Small Things Like These is a movie adapted from Irish author Claire Keegan's novel of the same title. The film will star Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who is coming off the heels of his Academy Award-winning performance in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. The movie is directed by Belgian director Tim Mielants, which seems to be a perfect follow-up after Oppenheimer for Murphy. The film debuted in February at the Berlin Film Festival and gained a high Rotten Tomatoes score.

The story of Small Things Like These takes place in 1985 in Wexford, Ireland, around Christmas time. The film focuses on "Magdalene laundries" or asylums in Ireland, usually run by the Catholic Church. These laundries originally housed former sex workers but later also became a place for women who were the victims of rape. Sometimes, the women housed were social outcasts, abuse victims, and orphans. The women housed in these laundries became known as "fallen women.

Cillian Murphy follows his Academy Award-winning lead turn in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer with an aptly named film a fraction of that size. Director Tim Mielants’ adaptation of Claire Keegan’s 2021 novel Small Things Like These stars Murphy as not a man who became Death, destroyer of worlds, but as...

Director Tim Mielants's new movie is being met with critical acclaim thus far, but theatrical and streaming viewing options for Small Things Like These remain scarce. Based on a novel by Claire Keegan, this historical drama shows a coal merchant discovering dark secrets kept by a convent in the town of New Ross, Ireland, around Christmas 1985. The release of this Cillian Murphy movie will show the actor returning to the big screen alongside actors Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Emily Watson, Clare Dunne, Helen Behan, Liadn Dunlea, Agnes O'Casey, Mark McKenna, and Zara Devlin. This film's release comes after Murphy's Academy Award-winning performance in Christopher Nolan's historical epic Oppenheimer.

Though Tim Mielants is a relatively unknown director in the United States, his new movie won over distributor Lionsgate and audiences at the Berlin International Film Festival, scoring a whopping 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. So far, reviews for Small Things Like These...

Cillian Murphys upcoming historical drama Small Things Like These officially received its initial Rotten Tomatoes score, ahead of its U.S. theatrical debut. In the film, Murphy is playing the role of a coal merchant named Bill Furlong.

Following its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, director Tim Mielants Small Things Like These movie garnered positive reviews from critics. Per Rotten Tomatoes, the historical drama now holds a Tomatometer score of 90%, based on 40 reviews. Most of the critics praised Murphy for his leading performance post-Oppenheimer, with The Curbs Nadine Whitney describing it as soulful and sincere. This marks Murphys first movie project since winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his acclaimed work on Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer biopic. In addition to leading the cast, the Irish actor is also serving as a producer on the movie.

Related Christopher Nolan Reveals How His Partnership with...

Following his Oscar win for Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy returns to cinemas in this powerful new drama. Today we’re fortunate to present these cast interviews for Small Things Like These. Directed by Tim Mielants, the cast includes Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Clare Dunne, Helen Behan, Emily Watson.

Hayley Donaghy asks the questions.

The film hits UK and Irish cinemas on November 1st.

Plot:

Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. 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.

The post Small Things Like These Interviews: Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh & more on their...

Small Things Like These, starring and produced by Cillian Murphy, opens today in the UK and Ireland before bowing November 8 in the U.S. The Tim Mielants-directed drama opened the Berlin Film Festival in February to great acclaim, with Emily Watson’s turn as a formidable nun scooping the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Actress.

In the 1985-set film, Murphy stars as Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and devoted father who 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.

This is the first feature production from Murphy and his recently minted Big Things Films banner, which he runs alongside partner Alan Moloney. It’s a film close to the Oscar winner’s heart with the source material being a best-selling novel by Claire Keegan...

Cillian Murphy is many things. Oppenheimer, Tommy Shelby, Scarecrow, Fischer, and many more. However, the actor is also a gentleman who is moved by the things he sees and reads.

Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer | Credits: Universal Pictures

So naturally, Murphy talked about how he was overcome when he went on to read one iconic short story from a renowned author. The actor couldn’t hold it together while on a train after he read the amazing novel by Claire Keegan.

Cillian Murphy Was Moved By Claire Keegan’s Novel

After winning an Oscar award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Oppenheimer, Murphy has not stopped working. And from the new Peaky Blinders film to Small Things Like These, Murphy does not plan to stop anytime soon either.

Cillian Murphy’s film Small Things Like These | Credits: Big Things Films

His 2024 flick is...

Thanksgiving may promise a bounty on the dinner table, but the multiplex still looks bare. Continuing this year's theme, our November film preview features another relatively light month at the movies. Still, it’s quality over quantity, and if you ignore Red One, the $250 million attempt at turning Christmas lore into a Marvel movie,...

Cillian Murphy is getting back on the red carpet more than six months after he won his first Oscar!

On Thursday (October 24), the 48-year-old Oppenheimer star attended the U.K. premiere of his new movie Small Things Like These at the The Curzon Mayfair in London, England.

He was dressed casually for the event, wearing a tan suede blazer with an olive V-neck and dark pants.

Keep reading to find out more…

Cillian was joined at the event by costars Emily Watson and Eileen Walsh. We’ve got photos of them in the gallery.

This marks Cillian‘s first big event since he picked up the Best Actor win at the Oscars back in March.

If you were curious about the movie, we have an official synopsis: “Oscar® winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan.

It's been over a year since Oppenheimer was released in theaters, and Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy's next movie, Small Things Like These, is the perfect follow-up. Cillian Murphy has been active in the film industry for nearly three decades, but he's never been in the spotlight as prominently as he was in 2023 after playing the titular role in the Oppenheimer cast. For playing historic physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy took home a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and received immense acclaim for starring in his first almost-$1 billion-grossing movie.

Murphy has received consistent praise throughout his career, most widely recognized for his supporting roles in Christopher Nolan's movies, like Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy, and supporting characters in Inception and Dunkirk. He also led the cast of the critically acclaimed crime drama TV series Peaky Blinders for all six seasons and will be following up on the...

Cillian Murphy‘s new movie Small Things Like These is debuting later this year and the trailer just dropped.

The 48-year-old actor’s upcoming film is based on the book of the same name by Claire Keegan, and it marks the first of his movies to be released following his Oscar win earlier this year for his role in Oppenheimer.

Keep reading to find out more…

Here’s a synopsis: Oscar® winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. 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.

Also starring are Emily Watson, Eileen Walsh,...

Lionsgate has released the official trailer for Small Things Like These starring Oscar winner Cillian Murphy and two-time Oscar nominee Emily Watson. The film is based on Claire Keegan’s critically acclaimed book, which she dedicated to those who suffered time in Ireland’s mother and baby homes and Magdalen laundries. Currently, the drama sits at 83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes following festival screenings.

“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,” reads Lionsgate’s synopsis.

Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Clare Dunne, and Helen Behan also star. Enda Walsh adapted Keegan’s book and Tim Mielants (Wil) directed. Murphy, Alan Moloney, Catherine Magee, Matt Damon, and Drew Vinton serve as producers. Executive producers include Ben Affleck,...

Ever since Cillian Murphy's richly deserved Oscar win for his performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's atomic epic Oppenheimer, we've been eager to see what the Douglas born actor has up his sleeve next. But whilst Murphy most recently lent his voice to animated offering Kensuke's Kingdom, and will soon be seen in Steven Knight's soon-shooting Peaky Blinders movie, his next on-screen appearance is set to come in Small Things Like These, Tim Mielants' upcoming adaptation of Claire Keegan's best-selling novel about Catholic corruption in small-town Ireland. In the movie, Murphy — given a rare opportunity to work in his natural Irish brogue — plays Bill Furlong, a father whose repressed trauma surfaces when he discovers disturbing secrets being kept by his local convent. And you can check out the first trailer for the drama below:

Inspired by the real history of the Magdalene Laundries, a...

Lionsgate has announced details for the US release of the new film “Small Things Like These.” The drama, set in 1980s Ireland, tells the story of a coal merchant who uncovers secrets kept by the local convent. It is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Irish author Claire Keegan.

The movie will open in US theaters on November 8. It will first debut in the UK and Ireland on November 1. Lionsgate acquired distribution rights for North America, the UK, and Ireland after “Small Things Like These” premiered to critical acclaim at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.

Starring Oscar winner Cillian Murphy, the film follows Bill Furlong, a devoted father, as Christmas nears in 1985 Ireland. Furlong discovers disturbing truths kept by the convent in his small town. He is then forced to face the silence of his community about these secrets, as well as confronting parts of his own past.

Lionsgate has dropped the official trailer and set UK, Ireland and U.S. release dates for Small Things Like These, starring Oscar winner Cillian Murphy. Check out the trailer above and a new poster below.

Small Things Like These opened the Berlin Film Festival in February, the first time an Irish movie has had the honor. Emily Watson went on to win the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for her role. Lionsgate later acquired North America, the UK and Ireland. It will release the film first in the UK and Ireland on November 1, followed by the U.S. on November 8; the latter with Roadside Attractions.

Murphy, who also produces, stars as devoted father Bill Furlong in the drama that’s based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. While working as a coal merchant to support his family, Bill discovers disturbing secrets kept by the...

Here’s a sneak peek at Cillian Murphy’s next not-“Peaky Blinders” film.

The Academy Award winner stars in and produces “Small Things Like These” based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. “Small Things Like These” centers on devoted father Bill Furlong (Murphy) who works as a coal merchant to support his family. While on the job, he discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent — and realizes some truths of his own — forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church.

The film is set in 1985, and co-stars Emily Watson, Michelle Fairley, and Eileen Walsh.

Playwright Enda Walsh adapated the script, with “Peaky Blinders” director Tim Mielants directing. The feature premiered at Berlinale 2024; it was later acquired by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

Murphy’s “Oppenheimer” co-star Matt Damon also produces through his...

"Now don't be thinking you're in any trouble..." Lionsgate has revealed the official trailer for the indie film Small Things Like These, which is getting a proper US theatrical release in November this fall. The film initially premiered at Berlinale as the Opening Night Film earlier this year. Leading up to Christmas in 1985, coal merchant Bill Furlong makes a discovery at a local convent that makes him confront secrets in the Irish town of New Ross. The storyline focuses on Ireland's infamous Magdalene laundries - which were (or maybe still are?) Catholic institution used to house "fallen women", which were really horrible places. It's a rather dour and depressing film, with an understated performance from Cillian Murphy starring as Bill. The full cast includes Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Emily Watson, Clare Dunne, Helen Behan, Liadán Dunlea, and Ciarán Hinds. I'm not a big fan of this film - I saw...

Lionsgate UK has unleashed a new trailer for the Cillian Murphy-led ‘Small Things Like These.’

Oscar® winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. 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.

Directed by Tim Mielants, the cast includes Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Clare Dunne, Helen Behan, Emily Watson.

Also in trailers – “It’s not safe…” Trailer drops for ‘Salem’s Lot’

The film hits UK and Irish cinemas on November 1st.

The post Cillian Murphy stars in trailer for ‘Small Things Like These’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Premiering at Berlinale before his Oscar win for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer but now arriving many months after, Cillian Murphy will next be seen in Small Things Like These. Also starring Emily Watson, Michelle Fairley, and Eileen Walsh, Tim Mielants’ Berlinale opener will now arrive on November 8 from Lionsgate and now the first trailer has landed.

Here’s the synopsis: “Oscar® winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. 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.”

Rory O’Connor said in his review, “Murphy, who developed the film with the producer Alan Moloney and his Oppenheimer co-star Matt Damon,...

Oppenheimer ft Cillian Murphy ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

When Oppenheimer was released in 2023, critics and moviegoers couldn’t stop praising it. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the biographical war drama stars Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, and many others. Cillian Murphy played Robert J. Oppenheimer in Nolan’s film and received immense appreciation for his performance.

What made Oppenheimer such a big hit is the powerful story, the direction, cinematography, music, and the performances. From Cillian Murphy to Robert Downey Jr. to Emily Blunt, every actor associated with the movie was praised for their acting. Cillian and Rdj also went on to win several big awards this year, including Oscars. Well, the streak of winning awards is not yet over for the Batman Begins actors.

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer

Recently, Cillian Murphy was presented with the Best Lead Actor award for Oppenheimer, at the 21st Irish Film and TV Academy Awards.

The 74th Berlin International Film Festival announced the winners of the fest at the awards ceremony held at the Berlinale Palast on February 24.

20 films competed for the awards in this year’s competition with Lupita Nyong’o heading the International Jury alongside Ann Hui, Christian Petzold, Albert Serra, Jasmine Trinca and Oksana Zabuzhko. The Encounters Jury, Lisandro Alonso, Denis Côté and Tizza Covi choose the winners for Best Film, Best Director and the Special Jury Award.

The Golden Bear for Best Film was awarded to Dahomey by Mati Diop. Emily Watson won The Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for her role in Small Things Like These, while Sebastian Stan received The Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance in A Different Man. Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias was honored with The Silver Bear for Best Director for his film Pepe, and the Silver Bear Jury Prize went to Bruno Dumont for Empire.

Something eerie is afoot in the small Irish town of Wexford, where coal merchant Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy) raises five young daughters alongside his wife, Eileen (Eileen Walsh). It’s Christmastime 1985, the busiest time of the year for the Furlong family business, but Bill is not feeling like himself. An eerie encounter by the town’s convent brings back memories the man kept stashed away for decades, glimpses of his childhood interrupting his carefully concocted routine — the sun filtered through the big windows of a bright manor as Bill methodically rinses grime off his dirtied hands; flashes of a cold stable surfacing as his daughters chatter about homework around the kitchen table.

Continue reading ‘Small Things Like These’ Review: Cillian Murphy Anchors Chillingly Effective Religious Drama [Berlinale] at The Playlist.

One thing that rankles about some historical dramas is their tendency to indicate the story’s epoch using the broadest possible signifiers. Movies about the 1980s in particular often draw as much from the spirit of ’80s-themed house parties as they do from history. In contrast, Tim Mielant’s Small Things Like These fashions a believable and at times engrossing vision of the mid-’80s, even if its story could’ve benefited from similar nuance.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Claire Keegan, the film takes place during the 1985 Christmas season in New Ross, Ireland. In this working-class town, not everything is “from” the ‘80s: People wear clothes that look like they’re from the ’60s, the kids watch ’70s cartoons like Danger Mouse, and some of the vehicles even seem as they’re from the ’40s. Small Things Like These understands how the vestiges of the...

Murphy plays a man who witnesses Ireland’s church’s abusive workhouses for unwed mothers in an absorbing Dickensian story based on recent history

As producer and lead actor, Cillian Murphy has brought to the screen a piercingly painful and sad story with a very literary intensity, juxtaposing the detail of the present with flashback memories of the past. It is about Ireland’s notorious Magdalene Laundries: the church’s homes for unwed mothers who were made to work in an atmosphere of wretchedness and shame and had their babies taken away and sold to foster parents. Enda Walsh has adapted the much admired novel by Claire Keegan and the director is Tim Mielants.

This subdued but absorbing and eventful film is rather different from Peter Mullan’s extravagant The Magdalene Sisters – which also featured Eileen Walsh in its cast – and different also from Stephen Frears’ bittersweet dramedy Philomena. Murphy...

Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon are stepping out for the premiere of their new movie!

The two actors hit the red carpet together at the premiere of Small Things Like These held on Thursday (February 15) during the 2024 Berlinale International Film Festival at the Berlinale Palast in Berlin, Germany.

Fellow cast members in attendance included Eileen Walsh, Emily Watson, and Zara Devlin along with director Tim Mielants.

Keep reading to find out more…Cillian and Matt serve as producers on the new movie, which Cillian also stars in.

Here’s the movie’s synopsis: “It is 1985 in the run-up to Christmas in a small town in County Wexford, Ireland. Bill Furlong toils as a coal merchant to support himself, his wife and his five daughters. Early one morning while out delivering coal at the local convent, he makes a discovery that forces him to confront his past and the complicit silence...

Editor’s Note: This review originally published during the 2024 Berlin Film Festival. Lionsate opens “Small Things Like These” in theaters on Friday, November 8.

Opening nights at major festivals often lean towards the showier end of the spectrum, reaching for films with starry, red carpet-friendly casts and headline-grabbing premises to kick off proceedings in flashy style. The past two Berlinales boasted fun but forgettable openers — Rebecca Miller’s “She Came To Me” and Francois Ozon’s “Peter von Kant” — which is why it’s a pleasant surprise that this year’s Berlinale Opening Night offers something altogether subtler, a genuinely profound low-key gem which will be remembered long after the champagne and sequins have been swept away.

On the surface, “Small Things Like These,” produced by and starring the freshly Oscar-nominated Cillian Murphy (and with “Oppenheimer” co-star Matt Damon also on board as producer) fits the Opening Night brief well. In reality,...

Unlike Peter Mullan’s searing 2008 Venice Golden Lion winner, The Magdalene Sisters, or Joni Mitchell’s piercingly sad ballad, “The Magdalene Laundries,” the name given to the notorious workhouse institutions controlled by Irish religious orders is never spoken in Small Things Like These. But its Biblical evocation of the “fallen woman” is clear as a bell in this acutely affecting drama about how a glimpse of cruelty behind convent walls reopens the psychological wounds of a kind family man who has strived to build a life untainted by the stigma and sorrow of his childhood.

That man is Bill Furlong, a hard-working coal merchant and loving father of five daughters, played by Cillian Murphy in a performance that rips your heart out despite being an unimpeachable model of restraint.

The actor’s work here could scarcely be more of a contrast to his fine-grained characterization as the soft-spoken but imposing title figure in Oppenheimer,...

From “28 Days Later” through to his recent, Oscar-nominated turn in “Oppenheimer,” Cillian Murphy has cultivated a reputation as a strong, silent type — all while resisting the inscrutability associated with that masculine cliché. His beautiful, sharp-boned face twitches and tightens and teems with feeling. Closeups always catch it thinking, wrestling with surges of vulnerability or violence, or watching other characters in turn. It’s always busy, never blank. A story of the unspeakable gradually leaving the realm of the unsaid, “Small Things Like These” rests on both his quiet and his disquiet as an actor. As a blue-collar family man growing increasingly alert to misdeeds in the sacred heart of his community, he’s not just the conscience of Belgian director Tim Mielants’ delicate, understated film, but its live emotional current.

For if Murphy’s character Bill Furlong is quiet, the town around him is practically petrified. A sleepy settlement in Ireland’s County Wexford,...

Cillian Murphy’s extensive preparation for his titular role in “Oppenheimer,” which required him to learn thousands of words in Dutch, earned him the admiration of his co-stars and has fueled his Oscar campaign for Best Actor. But on the set of his new film “Small Things Like These,” on which he also serves as an executive producer, the Irish actor opted to take a more relaxed approach.

During a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter while promoting the movie at the Berlin International Film Festival, Murphy explained that his role as a producer allowed him to facilitate the kind of spontaneous creative process that he prefers over extensive rehearsals.

“I’m not a big fan of rehearsals,” Murphy said. “It was quite nice being producer on this in that, in tandem with [director] Tim [Mielants], we could work out where we wanted to do this. Because we had a lot of...

Cillian Murphy, the Irish star of the Berlinale opening night film Small Things Like These, spoke of Ireland’s “collective trauma” and the ability of art to “be a really useful band for that wound” at a press conference ahead of the film’s world premiere later tonight (February 15).

Murphy headlines the first Irish independent feature to open the Berlinale. Set over Christmas 1985, Murphy plays devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong, who discovers shocking secrets kept by the convent in his town.

The film is set against the backdrop of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries, asylums run by Roman Catholic...

Cillian Murphy, the Irish star of the Berlinale opening night film Small Things Like These, spoke of Ireland’s “collective trauma” and the ability of art to “be a really useful band for that wound” at a press conference ahead of the film’s world premiere later tonight (February 15).

Murphy headlines the first Irish independent feature to open the Berlinale. Set over Christmas 1985, Murphy plays devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong, who discovers shocking secrets kept by the convent in his town.

The film is set against the backdrop of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries, asylums run by Roman Catholic...

During the Berlin Film Festival press conference for his newest movie “Small Things Like These,” Cillian Murphy reflected on the “collective trauma” of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries.

Based on the book of the same name by Claire Keegan, “Small Things Like These” focuses on the “horrific asylums run by Roman Catholic institutions from the 1820s until 1996, ostensibly to reform ‘fallen young women,’” according to its synopsis. The story is told through the eyes of Murphy’s devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong, who during Christmas 1985 discovers some “startling secrets” kept by his local convent.

“It was a collective trauma, particularly for people of a certain age, and I think that we’re still processing that,” Murphy said of the dark moment in Irish history. “I also think that art can be a really useful balm for that wound. The book certainly was a huge seller in Ireland, it seems like everybody read it.

The Cillian Murphy-starring Berlin Film Festival opener Small Things Like These “is asking the audience to care about cinema,” Matt Damon, one of the pic’s financiers, has said.

Addressing the movie’s press conference in Berlin on Thursday, Damon, who starred in Oppenheimer opposite Murphy, said “there is enough audience in the world that still does [care about cinema]” amidst fraught geopolitics and financial challenges for the sector.

Damon recalled when he was “starting out in the 1990s” and “you would see movies like [Small Things Like These] all the time,” but said today’s landscape is “constantly in flux.”

In Tim Mielants’ Small Things Like These, which is financed by Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity, Murphy plays a devoted family man who discovers the local convent is in fact a cruel institution that takes in so-called “fallen girls and women.” This revelation forces him to confront some hard truths about the convent,...

Exclusive: Passing the time between Oppenheimer takes in a New Mexico bunker one morning at about 4 a.m., Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon sowed the seeds of a future collaboration. Fast-forward to today, and Small Things Like These is opening the Berlin Film Festival.

Murphy stars in and produced Small Things Like These alongside his Big Things Films partner Alan Moloney. Damon is also a producer — his and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity financed the film that’s based on Claire Keegan’s acclaimed novel and was adapted for the screen by Enda Walsh. Tim Mielants directs.

Though it deals with a serious subject matter, the road to making the movie was “blissful,” and married “kismet” with “serendipity,” Damon and Murphy told me recently in a conversation that also touched on how Artists Equity acts as “facilitator” and not “babysitter”, the...

Tim Mielants, a self-described “weird guy from Belgium,” is not the first filmmaker you’d expect to get the call to direct Small Things Like These, a film soaked in the culture and history of Ireland.

The film shares its subject matter with Peter Mullan’s 2002 drama The Magdalene Sisters, which exposed the brutal treatment of the tens of thousands of women held in Magdalene Laundries. Small Things Like These shifts the focus to the world outside the asylum, and to the complicity of the community that allowed the abuse to continue.

Mielants, who first worked with Murphy on British crime series Peaky Blinders, says it was this focus on “a man in midlife trying to deal with grief and struggling to do the right thing” that “made me think I might be able to tell this story.”

Small Things Like These was produced by Murphy’s Big Things Films,...

Exclusive: On Thursday, the Berlin Film Festival will kick off with the world premiere of Small Things Like These, starring Cillian Murphy, who also produces, and marking the first time an Irish movie opens the Berlinale. In the exclusive first-look at the 1985-set drama (check it out above), Murphy’s family man Bill Furlong comes face-to-face with Emily Watson’s formidable Sister Mary whose convent is concealing dark and disturbing secrets.

Also starring Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley and Zara Devlin, the story plays out in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1985. Bill, a devoted husband, father and coal merchant living in the traditional Irish town of New Ross in County Wexford, is facing his busiest season. During his delivery rounds, he discovers that the local convent is in fact a cruel institution that takes in so-called ‘fallen girls and women.’ His reaction to this discovery forces him to confront some hard truths about the convent,...