KSL Movie Show review: ‘Small Things Like These’ is an excellent historical drama

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SALT LAKE CITY — Sometimes, the simple stories are the best. Then, when you put a terrific actor like Cillian Murphy in the middle of it, it becomes something extraordinary.

This is an historical drama, set in mid-1980s Ireland, where a small business owner of a coal delivery company, Bill Furlong, sets out each day to deliver to his many customers, including the Good Shepherd Convent on the outskirts of a quaint village.

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Head down, quietly minding his own business, Bill works exhausting hours carrying heavy bags of coal on his daily run. He occasionally stops for a pint at his local pub after a long day, but mostly goes home to his loving family, including his wife Eileen (Eileen Walsh) and their five energetic daughters.

He’s a kind man, a good father, and a loving husband. But lately he’s been haunted by his past, growing up as the son of a single mother who struggled mightily during her shortened life.

One day, on his stop at the convent, Bill witnesses a mother dragging her screaming, pregnant daughter out of the car into a side entrance, where an awaiting nun pulls her the rest of the way in. He watches, stunned, then lowers his gaze, thinks “not my business,” goes back in the truck, and off he goes. But this experience has dredged up memories of his own troubled upbringing, but he tries to brush them aside.

Working late on another cold night, Bill hears muffled cries from the locked coal storage room and discovers the same girl, Sarah, cowering, shivering in the freezing shed. She appears to be in a cruel timeout for bad behavior, but the Mother Superior Sister Mary (Emily Watson) tells a different story of a hide-n-seek, girls’ prank gone awry.

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Sister Mary feigns concern, tells the other nuns to take this poor child to get her something to eat in front of a warming fireplace. She then offers Bill a “Christmas bonus,” making suggestions about the future schooling possibilities for his daughters. Bill bows his head, takes the envelope strangely addressed to his wife “Eileen” and heads home.

However, he knows the message is clear. Keep your mouth shut, or have your life destroyed.

By now, you’ve probably figured out that this is based in part on the so-called “Magdalene Laundries” which ran for decades in Ireland. A place where “fallen women” would be taken to have their illegitimate babies delivered, only to have them whisked off for adoption, most young mothers never even getting a glimpse of their newborns. So this, in a way, is sort of a prequel to 2013’s Oscar-nominated “Philomena” with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.

Only this story takes the perspective of an unassuming Bill Furlong, who will be tasked with the age-old question, if you see a wrong, are you willing to step up and make it right?

Good question. The answer is in an excellent, understated movie.

SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE (A-) Rated PG-13 for thematic material. Starring Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Emily Watson, Clare Dunne and Patrick Ryan. Directed by Tim Mielants (“Wil” “Patrick”) – filmed in New Ross, Ireland. Running time: 98 minutes. 

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.