Speaking at the film’s Irish premiere at the Light House cinema in Dublin last night, the Academy Award winner said: “They all went for it straight away. Those guys are so sophisticated in their tastes and they all recognised how brilliant the book is, so it wasn’t a hard sell.”
Small Things Like These, directed by Tim Mielants from a screenplay by Enda Walsh, is centred on Murphy’s character Bill, a coal merchant in 1980s New Ross, Co Wexford, who wrestles with the idea of doing the right thing after discovering a Magdalene laundry in a local convent.
Interview with Cillian Murphy at the premiere of Small Things Like These
The Cork actor said he hopes the film’s message resonates in the context of events in the world today, but does not “want to be prescriptive in a film”.
“I think it should ask questions, it should be provocative and it should get people thinking, because audiences are super smart. People see those resonances, we don’t have to point them out,” he said.
You could feel the history in the relationship already, without us doing anything, just us being together
It was “wonderful”, he added, to be back on set with co-star Eileen Walsh, 28 years after their time together on the stage production of Disco Pigs.
“She’s just so wonderful,” Murphy said. “She’s a legend and she’s one of my best pals. Director Tim Mielants, when he put the camera on us, you could feel the history in the relationship already, without us doing anything, just us being together.”
Cillian Murphy: Small Things Like These film tries to stay ‘faithful to book’
It was a sentiment echoed by Walsh, who said working with Murphy again marked a full-circle moment.
“It was easy. The older you get, the more you appreciate working with somebody good. He knows what he’s doing, and it’s lovely to meet those eyes across a scene and then just act,” she said.
“Just let everything else fall away and no one else matters. You know each other deeply. It’s beautiful.”
Producer Catherine Magee said telling a story from Ireland’s dark, recent past was “hugely important” and can serve as a positive message for people today.
“That’s the great power of the story,” Magee said. “I read the last couple of pages of the book again recently and Keegan talks about the accumulation of small gestures and small things and how they become a lifetime.”