2 days Ago By Leena Nasir
Cillian Murphy tapped in to his Irish roots to play the role of Bill Furlong in the newly released trailer for “Small Things Like These.” The short movie trailer promises to thrill fans when Furlong, a father with repressed trauma, discovers disturbing secrets being concealed by his local convent. He is forced to contend with his own trauma while looking on at the horrors that unfold before him.
Murphy plays the soft-spoken character that works in the coal mines before discovering the abuse in his rural community. He contents with his own personal conflict while contemplating speaking out about what he has uncovered. The movie is set in the small Irish town of New Ross, in 1985, and draws from the real-life Magdalene Laundries, also known as Magdalene asylums.
Catholic nuns around Ireland separated unmarried, pregnant women from their children in these institutions, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Apparent promiscuity, engaging in overly flirtatious behavior and other factors could result in a woman being sent to one of these institutions as well. Allegations of abuse, lack of food or water, forced name changes and isolation from relatives have been made, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
The Magdalene Laundries in Ireland were all closed after October 1996. Murphy’s character struggles to take on this powerful institution while confronting his past as the story line unfolds. Murphy, off the heels of his wildly successful movie, “ Oppenheimer ,” recently spoke with Variety about the upcoming, highly anticipated film.
“I gave the script to Matt [Damon] when we were shooting, and he loved it,” Murphy said in the interview. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 10: Cillian Murphy attends the 96th Annual Academy Awards on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images) “I remember saying that it’s a different film, but it would share some thematic crossover with Manchester by the Sea, which Matt also produced.
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It was like I was pitching between Manchester by the Sea and Doubt,” Murphy told Variety. Murphy handed over the script to Damon , and Damon agreed to produce the film using Artists Equity, which he founded together with Ben Affleck. “They paid for the movie,” Murphy said in the interview.
“It was remarkably quick, the way it came together.” LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 24: Cillian Murphy attends the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 24, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) Getty Images Speaking of the unique qualities of the film, he told Variety “It’s so seemingly simple, but it’s incredibly complex, actually, when you look at it.
” (RELATED: Cillian Murphy Launches ‘Big Things Films’) “It’s massively intertwined with Irish people, our history and our culture and trauma and all of that stuff. I feel that sometimes art is a gentler way of addressing or confronting that than, perhaps, government reports or academic papers,” Murphy said in the interview..
